Defying
by Aedelstan
Summary: "Come with me…" Glinda and Elphaba left the Emerald City together to live a life of exile for defying the Wizard. The two of them realized that being outcasts together wasn't such a bad thing. Gelphie. What-if events after the "Defying Gravity" sequence. Based on the Musical with some references from the book. Definitely AU
1. Chapter 1: Hold Out

**Defying**

"_Come with me…" Glinda and Elphaba left the Emerald City together to live a life of exile for defying the Wizard. The two of them realized that being outcasts together wasn't such a bad thing. Gelphie. What-if events after the "Defying Gravity" sequence. Based on the Musical with some references from the book._

**A/N: **I do not own Wicked. It was conceived from the undeniable greatness of L. Frank Baum, derived through Gregory Maguire's undaunting imagination, and turned into a magnificent musical through Stephen Shwartz's undying determination.  
This story is in honor of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's magnificent portrayals as Elphaba and Glinda respectively. They introduced me to this amazing fandom XD.  
I hope you can tolerate whatever I'm going to do here XD I simply _worship _this ship, because, as Gregory Maguire himself confirmed, this pairing is real and definitely canon.

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**Chapter One: Hold Out  
**

"Elphie… You're trembling…"

That was all Glinda could say at that moment.

_Elphaba just asked me to go with her_, she pondered quickly, _Oz be damned, what am I going to say to her! She can't be serious to go _against _the Wizard! He's called a _Wizard _for a reason!_

She was irritated that she couldn't bring the words of rejection to her quivering lips. Elphaba was looking at her with wide eyes full of expectance and of fear. Those breathtaking, _wonderful _brown eyes… Silently begging her, _pleading _her to accompany her in a one way trip to certain hell.

She couldn't stand the sight of her heated gaze. Glinda averted her eyes and rapidly scanned the room, buying time to think of an answer.

Should she come with Elphaba, Glinda would have doomed her own fate. Her popularity will take form to a new meaning from being adored and worshiped to being reviled and repulsed. She would be branded as a traitor, a fugitive, and many other nasty names given to the enemies of the Wizard.

Should she refuse…

_Elphaba._

Her poor Elphie had been hated back at Shiz, and now that hatred will spread rapidly like wildfire all over Oz. Nowhere is safe for her…

And Elphaba will be facing a life of damnation _alone_.

Glinda could imagine it in her mind's eye. Elphaba all by herself, sitting in an empty room, looking lost, looking desperate… looking so isolated and cut off from society.

The thought gripped Glinda's heart with an unpleasant, freezing sensation.

Elphaba didn't deserve such life. She had been through much rejection already. Her own father, her own sister, the students at Shiz, and even once, from Glinda herself.

Glinda's eyes fell on a stark midnight black cloak hanging by the side. It wasn't much. It was blatantly simple. It didn't look horrible or ugly, but it was nowhere near fabulous either. It had Elphaba Thropp written all over it.

_Focus, Glinda! _She reprimanded herself, _You shouldn't be thinking about fashion at a time like this!_

And then again, her recent words included the word "trembling".

Wordlessly, she went over the aforementioned object, and deftly approached the green girl, who silently watched her companion.

Glinda threw the vast, black coat over Elphaba's tense shoulders and fastened the clasp.

She stood back to admire her "handiwork".

Black dominated Elphaba entirely. The pointed hat and the new cloak worked well together as she had expected, but the sight was somehow unnerving. More than anything, (and as much as Glinda hated to agree to) Morrible's downright lie against Elphaba moments earlier had one correct description: _Wicked_.

"All right."

Elphaba looked up upon hearing Glinda's quaky reply.

Glinda curled her hands into fists to steady them. She was out of her mind! She wasn't ready to answer! She bit her tongue, as if willing to punish it for jumping into conclusions without the brain's affirmation.

"What?" Elphaba breathed, her voice laboring due to the frantic hammering of her heart.

"I'll come with you…" Glinda replied almost immediately.

She mentally kicked herself. _Galinda Upland, what the HELL are you talking about! _she impatiently snapped to her brain. How she managed to keep a straight face was beyond her.

To her curiosity, it was Elphaba who currently looked as if she's having a war in her mind. She bit her verdant lips, her chocolate brown eyes a bit glazed.

Finally, Elphaba said, "You can't".

Glinda blinked. "… What?" she inquired, tilting her head to one side like a child. What was Elphaba talking about? Hadn't she asked her to come?

Elphaba began to incessantly pace around their small, claustrophobic space in the attic, holding her broom with one hand as she wildly articulated with the other.

"It's a _silly _suggestion, Glinda! I'm sorry for bringing it up," she began, words spilling out like waterfall from her lips, tumbling over each other, "I can't bring this on you. You don't have to. It's dangerous, everyone will hate you because of me!"

"Actually, Elphie- "

"The guards will be after me. There will be a price on my head. They're going to torture me and kill me if they _caught _me-"

"Oh _Elphie_, honestly!"

Glinda rooted herself on Elphaba's path, stopping her by pressing her palms against her strong shoulders.

Elphaba did stop. She was breathing heavily through gritted teeth. Her hat was lopsided on her head, with one side falling over her eye.

Glinda smiled a little. She had always found Elphaba's rambling cute, regardless of the topic. She could have watched her rant on till the end of the day but they were kind of in a deadline here.

"It's a decision _I _made, Elphie," Glinda said gently, so tempted to tuck in a loose strand of ebony hair behind her Elphie's ear. Instead, she corrected the hat's position on her head, the hat that had meant so much more ever since that one night after the Ozdust Ball.

"And this is a decision I made for the both of us," Elphaba answered adamantly, gripping Glinda's arms and slightly pulling the smaller girl to her, desperately willing the blonde to understand her intentions.

Glinda felt herself blush a little to be in this close proximity to Elphaba. Their noses were almost an inch apart. She could see her magnificent eyes in detail, even the pain that lingered within them.

Her heart gave a tiny whirl when Elphaba released the words "both of us". She wasn't certain why, but she wished Elphaba would say it again.

There was a raucous chain of knocking on the door.

"Open the door! In the name of His Supreme Ozness!" came a muffled, but frightening command from the other side.

Elphaba shook the blonde again to direct her gaze to her eyes again. "Glinda, _please_," she said with such intensity of pain and agony that Glinda wanted to breakdown and cry. She was willing to take all of Elphaba's hateful emotions and experience them herself rather than let the green girl suffer mercilessly from it.

"What… What about y-you?" Glinda choked, tears brimming in her eyes.

Elphaba released Glinda, much to the girl's disappointment. But Elphaba didn't want to see the blonde cry.

"Tell them I kidnapped you, dragged you here—_Oz_, I don't care!" Elphaba snapped, turning to the wide window, "Get yourself out of this mess, Glinda, _please_."

"But I want to come with you, Elphie, I- "

Furious, Elphaba whirled to face Glinda and grabbed her roughly than she meant to. "I don't want you to come with me!" she practically yelled at Glinda's face, "I want you to be _safe_!"

Glinda stared back at her for a split second, before breaking down into Elphaba's arms completely.

"You mean thing!" Glinda sobbed into Elphaba's arms. She subtly felt Elphaba tighten her grip on her.

The knocking continued, along with vile threats. They were wasting time.

"Glinda…"

Elphaba gently pushed the blonde away. Glinda was ready to dive into her bosom again, but she was stilled when Elphaba pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Glinda shivered and subconsciously pushed her head against Elphaba's incredibly warm lips. It felt like a final benediction more than anything. She pushed the thought aside.

"Hold out, my sweet…" Elphaba whispered, her hot breath unknowingly making Glinda weak in the knees.

The green girl swiftly pulled away.

Without warning, Elphaba madly rushed away from Glinda, and without looking back, threw herself out of the window, plummeting a hundred feet below.

"_Elphie, NO!_" Glinda shrieked, running over to the window. Her eyes worked like floodgates, releasing all the unwanted tears onto her pale face.

_The idiot! _Glinda's brain yelled unreasonably, _Really! THAT'S her solution? Kill herself? Kill herself and LEAVE me alone?! _

She barely got there when she saw a black speck in the sky, speeding away from the Emerald City.

Glinda balked and breathed out in relief. _Well, she didn't die, and that's something…_

The oak door gave an almighty groan as it swung to the floor before releasing an earsplitting crash on the stone floor, whisking dust everywhere.

Glinda jumped and froze as guards in verdigris uniform entered with spears and muskets aimed at her.

"It's me!" Glinda yelled all of a sudden, "I'm the one you want!"

Elphaba's escape was unknown to these men, for they were too occupied in breaking down the door. It was somewhat futile, Glinda knew that. Someone must've witnessed Elphaba's flight to freedom. Time will tell when the news will reach the castle, but for now, she was diverting their attention to give Elphaba time to distance herself. She certainly has hell to pay when they found out.

Glinda didn't even protest as they roughly grabbed her, forced her wrists into sharp cuffs, and unceremoniously dragged her out of the dingy attic.

_For Elphie_, Glinda said to herself as silent tears continued to cascade down her cheeks.

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**A/N: **Oh well, I've tried. I thank you if you read all the way down to the bottom XD


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Night

**A/N: **First off, if you've tolerated the first chapter and checked on this one too, I thank you :) To me, that's already an act of kindness. Whether you wrote a post or not, it already meant a great deal to me XD Thank you again.  
Yeah I really should clamp my mouth shut... Might as well give you this second chapter.

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**Chapter 2: Into the Night**

Glinda must've tripped numerous times, but her silent "escorts" paid no attention to her. She whimpered, yelped, and squeaked whenever her knees found the rough stone underneath her, but they carried on without as much as a sideways glance at her.

_Serves you right, _Glinda's mind snapped to her savagely, _You and you big mouth, Glinda Upland. And now you're headed to Southstairs… or worse, your head will be rolling on the floors of Southstairs soon. Good job, girl. Good job._

But she reasoned out that she was doing this for Elphie.

_They would've found out anyway. You're going to die for giving Elphie a one hour breather._

They were dragging her across parapets now, underneath the night sky. Below them, the Emerald City throbbed to life as the night fell. Glinda looked up, scanning the indigo sky for signs of Elphaba on her magical broom. It was too much to hope for. She looked down on her worn out shoes, wishing for her eyes to run out of water to use for her bitter tears.

Somehow, her logical side was right. She was going to jail for a useless attempt to help Elphaba escape. Why stop the inevitable? Stupid, _stupid _thing to do! Had her sense found her sooner, she would've said the right thing back in the attic! She would appear as the helpless victim dragged along by a deranged lunatic vowing to destroy the Wizard. She wouldn't be pulled to her death right now, she would've been given a full press conference on how she escaped the "Wicked Witch".

Her parents… Oz, what will her parents think of her! Pfanee, ShenShen, Avaric— even that odd fanatic of hers whom she knew as Biq! … And Fiyero…Everyone in Shiz, everyone in Oz for that matter! She hung her head at the prospect of such humiliation going to be impended on her name for the rest of her life: _"Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, The Idiot Who Tried To Help A Witch"_. She frowned further, stung by her own thoughts.

Unless…

No, it's ridiculous… But she could _try _it…

Without actually weighing her chances, Glinda broke free from the loose ranks around her, and with no particular location in mind, fled.

"Halt in the name of the Wizard!" a guard yelled as they sprinted after her. Glinda didn't stop.

_Perfect_, Glinda thought, beginning to feel tired, _They're going _kill _you once they get a hold of you! Run, Glinda, come on!_

Her freedom was short lived.

She collapsed panting on the balustrade. She was _absolutely _angry with herself! Her legs are screaming in protest, her eyes were making the world rotate in dizzying angles, her head was spinning in exhaustion, her lungs had ran out of air, her heart was hammering frantically in her cracking ribcage, her ears were deafening her with the wild thudding her bursting heart was making— Oz, her own body was betraying her!

As the guards loomed nearer in a whirl of green, Glinda closed her eyes with a defeated sigh. This was it. She was going to get hanged and beheaded for high treason. Her corpse will be thrown into a public pit and everyone will remember her as a traitor. She can imagine people dancing on her grave, mocking her even in death. The thought was too much to bear.

But then she heard the guards utter cries and curses displaying immense shock.

Curious, she willed her eyes open… and then her jaw followed on its own accord.

Elphaba was standing right in front of her. She looked livid with rage. Her piercing eyes fell on the small trickle of blood on Glinda's wrists and the dull purple bruises on her arms. The scrapped yellow sundress didn't escape her notice either, and so did the open wounds on the blonde's knees.

Brown eyes met blue for a second, and then Elphaba rounded on the guards, who were standing with their muskets and spears aimed at Elphaba. They all looked stunned. Glinda wasn't sure if it was because Elphaba's skin was greener than the grass, or if they were shocked when she came down on a mangled broom.

"What have you _DONE?_" Elphaba screeched into the night, throwing her hand into the air. Immediately, the guards dropped their weapons and fell on their knees.

Glinda saw them clutch their heads and howl in sheer agony. Whether the sensation was searing or freezing their brains, she didn't bother to know. She didn't_ want_ to know. The cries of her captors were so intense that she was starting to vicariously _feel _the pain too.

Elphaba quickly but gently pulled Glinda to her feet. The blonde was crying again.

"Elphie…" she managed to choke out of her throbbing throat. She brought her teary eyes to meet her savior's. Elphaba's eyes were so soft and tender. The glow of the moon heightened her wonderful features. She just looked _so lovely _in the moonlight…

Without further exchange of words, Elphaba steadied her broom, which raised itself on a proper height. Elphaba sat down on it without much fuss. Glinda, however, looked at it suspiciously. The broom looked old and worn. It might as well break into pieces and chuck the two of them from the sky.

"Trust me, Glinda," Elphaba said gently, offering a hand to her.

Glinda shivered at the way Elphaba uttered her name. She took the green hand anyway with both of her hands since she her wrists were still bound. Elphaba frowned when she saw how badly scrapped her hand looks like. Undoubtedly, Glinda must've used it several times to catch herself before she fell onto the ground. The blonde set herself in front of her companion.

Elphaba reached forward. One her hands tightly grasped the battered wood. The other was placed on Glinda's stomach to keep her in place. _Lurline, it's so soft_, the green girl said to herself, feeling her hand tingle at the touch. She blushed in spite of herself.

Glinda bit back a squeak as she felt Elphaba's hand pressed against her midriff. She was thankful her back was turned; she felt her face burning. She also wished that her stomach would stop somersaulting, fearing that Elphaba might feel right through her flesh.

Ever so gently, Elphaba slid herself closer to the blonde, her bosom against Glinda's back. Both of their faces delved into darker shades.

Finally, Elphaba kicked off, sending the two of them into the night.

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**A/N: **Well it's almost as long as the first one :/ If you've read all the way through, I thank you :D


	3. Chapter 3: Between Rage and Serenity

**A/N: **You wonderful people had been _amazing_. Your benevolent reviews had raised my soul from a depressing state of paranoia. Well this was my first story in FanFiction, and I thought it was a dull one. You all convinced me otherwise. I love and thank you all XD.

Actually, I'm panicking a bit. I'm starting college next week, and I'm trying to upload like crazy here. _Carpe diem! _

P.S. : Elphie and her mouth here are.. well… See for yourself…

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**Chapter Three: Between Rage and Serenity**

The Emerald City shrank underneath them as Elphaba steered the broom into the South.

Glinda subconsciously pressed her back against Elphaba's chest, wishing that she had put on something to fight off the raging winds whipping her bare flesh. She still had her yellow sundress on, albeit it was now torn and slightly bloodied around the hem. She wore it in thinking that things would end up… well, _normally_. If she had known what could've happened, she would've worn her best winter clothing.

All the same, she couldn't help but breathe in and out easy. She was _safe_, as what Elphaba had wanted her to be… Not the way she intended, but safe nonetheless. Glinda felt a strange calmness and security in the arms of her best friend. She couldn't even express herself when the green girl came to save her. It was as if she had been dug out from her grave.

The shrill howling sounds of wind rushing to her ears were filling up the tense silence. Elphaba hadn't uttered a word since their take off. The rigidness of her body didn't suggest cold either. The hand pressed on Glinda's stomach was stiff and unmoving.

Below them, the city shone its myriads of lights. Glinda could've appreciated it more if it weren't for the freezing numbness taking over her unprotected body. Not to mention the sting the wind was making on her fresh wounds.

"Um…" Glinda uttered uncertainly, trying her voice out in the rush of air. She adjusted her volume and continued, "It truly is wonderful. The Emerald City, I mean."

No response.

_Okay,_ thought Glinda, _Not looking good here._

"Nice night," she tried again, instantaneously wanting to rip out her own tongue. _You idiot. Nice night? That's the best you've got? _Why _is it so hard to talk to Elphie right now?_

Again, Elphaba refused to release a single word. Glinda was ever so tempted to turn her head to get a glimpse of her, but she had the feeling that she might not like what she'll see. Disappointment? Annoyance, perhaps? What else would keep her silent?

"So, um, we're up pretty high- "

"I couldn't leave you for _fifteen minutes_ on your own, could I?" Elphaba snapped all of the sudden. Glinda's heart balked for a second. She wished Elphie would tone her voice down so that it wouldn't sound as if she's bellowing directly at her left ear.

"Well how clever of you to estimate that amount of time—"

"Glinda, what _exactly _did you say to them?" Elphaba inquired, her voice dangerous low, sounding more like a ferocious growl. The blonde could practically feel her brown eyes tracing the ugly bruises across her bare arms.

Glinda would rather throw herself from the broom to certain death than recount the story of her epic failure in verbatim. After all, Elphaba _did _ask her to lie to them and save herself. The green girl had known all attempts of helping her will end in damnation. Glinda had not foreseen that one.

But Elphaba was growing impatient with her hesitations; she could feel the hand on her stomach automatically pressing down, making it difficult for the blonde to think and breathe properly. _Well she has strong hands, I say_, she thought, before severely retorting to her own brain, _Shut the Lurline up, you idiot! Her hands? Seriously? What does her hands have to do with anything? Say something! _

These frequent "mind wars" made her doubt her sanity. Dejectedly, without much enthusiasm, she yelled her story to be heard over the raging winds. She chopped off many parts, leaving the key concepts such as the unintelligent words she uttered that had ruined her life forever.

It didn't take Elphaba too long to finally explode.

"_Why _in Lurline's _ass _would you say such a thing!" she practically screeched, making Glinda cringe and inch a little farther to save whatever that was left of her eardrums. Elphaba must be really furious then. She didn't even know her roommate could say such words. It would've been something they'd laugh about where it another situation.

"Well I just thought—"

"Did it _ever _came to that head of yours what could've happened to _you_?" Elphaba continued, completely dismissing all of Glinda's attempts to justify herself, "I _tried _to _save_ you, Galinda, for _Oz's sake_!"

_Galinda_. With the GA, not _Glinda_.

Disappointed with herself, _Galinda _tuned out of the talk as Elphaba ranted viciously behind her. It was easy for her to do so. She could make her thoughts float even in the most interesting classes at Shiz.

This whole day was not turning out well. In fact, it was becoming a nightmare. They went into the city for a meaningful cause, and by the end of the day, the two of them became part of Oz's Most Wanted List. Both of their dreams… _gone_. She never get to be a famous sorceress, and Elphaba never managed to voice out the rights of the Animals.

And to top it all, Elphaba was mad at her. No, not mad. _Infuriated _with her. The only ally she had left, the only person whom she can share the rest of her fleeting life with.

As Elphaba screamed her lungs off, Glinda couldn't stop a fresh batch of tears flow from her eyes, which were slightly sore and tired of releasing her internal struggles for the last hour. How could she not cry?

She readily gave her honor in Elphaba's name. She suffered more physical and mental lacerations than Elphaba had. And the girl in question was in absolute rage because of all that sacrifice. It was taking a heavy toll on Glinda.

Now she truly felt alone, more so than in those moments when she pondered miserably what was waiting for her in the Wizard's throne room. She believed she and Elphaba were on the same side then.

"… couldn't had been more _stupid_! You will get _killed_! Why didn't you think of that?! Do you _ever _think? _You_… you…"

Elphaba faltered, her blind anger ebbing away ever so slowly. They were several miles away from the Emerald City now. They were bathed in the pale blue light of the night. Through the serene rays of the moon, Elphaba saw that Glinda's cheeks were glistening with streams of tears. Her shoulders were also unnaturally stiff, but she trembled slightly, making Elphaba realize that she was attempting to steady herself.

Instantaneously, regret- a horrible and cold sensation of regret- washed over her chest, seemingly freezing her lungs and her heart.

Her eyes fell on the ugly wounds marring the blonde's perfection…

_She suffered so much already_, Elphaba thought, biting her lip, _I shouldn't have…Oh Oz… What have I done…_

Sighing as she released the breath she had been holding, she positioned the arm holding Glinda on the stomach around the blonde's petite shoulders. Wordlessly, she pulled Glinda into a hug, closing the minuscule space Glinda had made between them. She was willing to make their interaction as sincere as she could with only one arm since the other was keeping the broom on its course. She then buried her face onto the blonde's curls.

"I'm sorry…" she breathed, feeling really horrible.

At this, Glinda shamelessly and openly sobbed, leaning with all her might to the girl behind her.

"No, _I'm _s-sorry, Elph-Elphie…" Glinda choked, feeling her nose and throat getting clogged up. This was the worst sensation of crying she'd had in years. Breathing was becoming impossible for her. Add the fact of the cold all around her. Her bawling and shivering were hindering her from getting her lips to work out coherent words together. "I didn't… didn't m-mean to ge-get you angry… I'm so, _so _s-s-sorry…"

"Shh," Elphaba cooed, pressing gentle kisses behind the blonde's hair, "There's blame to share, my sweet. None of it matters anymore…"

Glinda sniffled. It was silly to ask, but she had to anyway. She wanted Elphaba to confirm it herself.

"You w-won't leave me… Right?..."

Elphaba paused for a second. She then brought her lips next to Glinda's ear. She gently kissed it before whispering with profound sincerity.

"I'm here. I'm always here. I will _never _leave you, my sweet… I promise."

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**A/N: **Well... I wanted to make it longer... But it's too much angst for one chapter XD. I had fun writing this. What do you think?  
I wanted Elphaba to mold into Idina Menzel's awesome portrayal of the character... but then there's Eden Espinosa XD Both of them angst Elphie in whole new levels, so I guess I'm getting traits from both.

Those who watched "X-Men: First Class" might get where the Chapter Title came from. :D Because Michael Fassbender!


	4. Chapter 4: Night Fire

**A/N: **And so… This is getting longer than I intended XD But it's coming pretty good, to be frank. I'm excited to finish it already.

The places mentioned here are created by Gregory Maguire himself, as was mentioned in his two books _Wicked _and _Son of a Witch_. It felt wrong to establish a new place of my own in Maguire's Oz :D I'm not forgetting that Elphie and Glinda are still his property.

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**Chapter 4: Night Fire**

An amiable silence took over the two girls as they soar over the vast Oakhair Forest.

The heat of crying died for Glinda, and the vicious cold returned. Thankfully, Elphaba's arm was still around across her neck and shoulders. Their close proximity allowed them to somewhat share some body heat, and the smaller girl was thankful for it.

It took her some time to realize that Elphaba was willing the broom to land. Lower and lower they glided. Glinda was even impressed on how Elphaba skillfully maneuvered the shady old broom through tangles of branches. They landed safe and sound deep within the woods.

Glinda felt her knees buckle as her feet finally felt the hard, uneven ground. It was ridiculously dark. The mass of towering trees and their clumps of branches had blocked all the natural light created by the nightly celestial bodies.

Glinda jumped and uttered an unintelligent squeak when she felt something brush against her shoulders. Calming herself, she realized that Elphaba had wrapped the cloak on her, mirroring what she had done for her in the attic back in the Emerald City.

She murmured her thanks, terribly grateful to finally warm here stone cold arms. She had her second surprise when Elphaba conjured a bright fire. She let her eyes adjust for a while at the sudden illumination.

When she decided to open her eyes, she looked down and saw Elphaba seated on the ground. She did the same, albeit with longer time since the pain on her knees were killing her.

"Whew…" she sighed as she let herself drop on the soft grass next to her companion, encasing herself further within the confines of the large cape.

"Does it hurt real bad?" Elphaba asked, a little hoarse after being exposed in the cold for so long.

"Oh, um…" Glinda uttered, sniffing. Her nose had pronounced itself jammed a quarter of an hour ago, "Not _that _bad, Elphie…" She caused her enough trouble for one night.

Elphaba looked at her skeptically. "Glinda, your wrists are still bleeding because of that infernal contraption," she deadpans.

Glinda sighed. If she was going to spend the rest of her days with Elphie, might as well start being more open. She can't pretend to be forever-the-tough-girl. Submissively, she unearthed her bound wrists from the cape and held them out for Elphaba to see.

She had to admit. Even _she _was surprised at the sight of more blood. Looking at it, the dull sting she had been feeling intensified to a whole new level.

"Mind if I borrow your pin?" Elphaba said after examining the bloodied metal.

Glinda nodded, and the green girl deftly unhooked it from her hair. She then tinkered with the tiny keyhole. The left cuff clicked, much to Glinda's bewilderment. The right followed suit within a minute.

Glinda yelped, and Elphaba cringed slightly; the right cuff had buried itself on Glinda's wrist. Elphaba swiftly pulled it, sending the after effects of pain a split second later. Heftily, she threw the damned metal, and it was lost into the darkness where it belonged.

"Sweet Lurline…" Glinda hissed in pain, looking with wide eyes at her open flesh. The sight of blood was dizzying. "I can't believe I didn't even feel it."

She hadn't noticed that Elphaba had taken out small bottles of various sizes and colors from her sling bag, which now contained the thick tome of the Grimmerie.

"Well, because maybe we were a little occupied," Elphaba said, smirking slightly, setting the bottles before Glinda.

Glinda's face fell again. "I'm sorry, Elphie," she said sadly, "I'm really sorry."

Elphaba smiled gently at that. The sight of her smile after a blur of chaos was a breath of life for Glinda. She simply looked _so beautiful_. One could never imagine how beauty could emerge from such simplicity.

"Think nothing of it, my sweet," Elphaba finally answered, uncorking the first bottle with cobalt blue oil.

_The more you're calling me that, the more I'm losing my mind!... Or what's left of it anyway…_ Glinda's train of thought kept her silent. The things she's willing to do for Elphaba recently are seemingly limitless.

"Now this might, um, hurt a little," Elphaba confessed.

She used her own handkerchief to dab some oil on the wounded wrist. Their eyes met for a short while… And then Elphaba lowered the cloth on the flesh.

"Oh my— OH, OZ!" Glinda screamed, feeling as if the wound was submerged on fire. She writhed slightly. Elphaba looked pained, but with her free arm, she held Glinda in place. It was not that difficult, seeing as Glinda had a slight figure.

"Ow, ow! S-stop—NO!" Glinda screamed and screamed. It was maddening for both of them. Tears welled in Glinda's eyes again, but it was nowhere near crying. There was simply pain, a _lot _of it.

The task was over within thirty seconds. And that was just her right wrist. There will be the problem of both the knees.

Elphaba immediately dropped her handkerchief and brought Glinda in her arms. "I'm sorry, my sweet," she whispered tenderly.

The blonde looked down to see what had caused her so much agony. She was somewhat relieved and astonished that the deep cut had turned into nothing more than a pencil sketch on her skin.

"Well, it's effective," she said hoarsely after emptying her lungs, trying to enliven the moment, "_And _clearly painful too." She felt that the hug served as an awarding reparation for such an ordeal. Such warmth… She could get wounded every minute if Elphaba will keep bringing her this close to her.

"This is going to take a while," Elphaba noted, absentmindedly stroking Glinda's soft curls.

Glinda giggled. "I can tell."

The two of them weren't sure of the existence of other living creatures in the forest, but they were certain that Glinda had awakened them all with her ceaseless, ear-shattering screams.

Half an hour later, Glinda lay on the ground, tightly wrapped around Elphaba's massive cloak, chasing the breath that had escaped her. Elphaba sat cross-legged next to her, letting her thigh serve as the exhausted blonde's pillow.

"Well you wasted all your strength on screaming," Elphaba quipped, her verdant fingers gently combing their way across the blonde's tresses.

"I can't imagine myself at childbirth," Glinda muttered dejectedly, eyes fluttering close, "The child might as well be born deaf to save it from its misery."

It took the two of them a minute to take in the words. It was a harmless thought Glinda blurted from out of the blue, but blood rushed to both of their faces.

_Oh Lurline_, Glinda thought, eyes flying open, _Where did THAT come from?_

The prospect of getting into a romantic relationship and settling down with someone was too much to hope for the two of them. The guy had to live up to the life of exile; basically, give up everything for the sake of a doomed relationship. Not to mention, having a child was out of the question. It would have to be raised knowing that its mother was an enemy of Oz.

There was only the two of them now. Elphie and her. Against Oz, against all odds.

Glinda hadn't really realized that she was easing her way to sleep, nor did she immediately notice that Elphaba had laid down behind her.

Her breath hitched to her throat when Elphaba's arms brought her once again into her protective arms after assuming that the blonde was asleep. Glinda stilled herself as she felt Elphaba settle her face against her blonde hair. She felt the green girl sharply inhale whatever was left of her shampoo on her hair.

"Glinda…" she said tenderly.

With all her willpower, Glinda clamped her lips shut to keep herself from uttering any sound.

_There goes those stupid butterflies in the stomach again_, thought Glinda, _What is wrong with me? Ever since the Ozdust ball, things had been weird. I went with her to Emerald City on such quick notice. I haven't even packed my stuff, but I jumped on the train with her! And then there's this whole fiasco… For heaven's sake, the things this woman is making me do!_

Elphaba's breath had deepened, signaling her slumber.

Glinda, meanwhile, relished the wonderful feeling of slender but tender arms keeping her warm, keeping her company. Dreams soon found her, and they were plagued with the images of her green guardian.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh well… My eyes are protesting… So is my battered brain.  
If there's anything wrong with this chapter, please tell me. I have to know if my head is still functioning properly … I apologize if this chapter is somewhat boring to some. I'm panicking myself to finish this because my college days are starting next week, less than five days T_T Working overtime here


	5. Chapter 5: The Apple Press Farm

**A/N: **I love you all for reading all the way here XD

Now this little chapter here, I took the place from _Son of Witch_, Gregory Maguire's official sequel to his amazing story of _Wicked_.

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**Chapter Five: The Apple Press Farm**

How Glinda loved playing with her Elphie's raven black hair.

_My Elphie indeed_, she said, smiling ridiculously.

The green girl even gave the spritely little blonde her permission to comb it every night while she pored over her notes. Glinda was even lucky to get a free lecture if Elphaba felt chatty. Otherwise, there's a nice and easy silence between them, seeing as both of their minds were occupied. Whenever Glinda felt really playful, she would end up braiding her hair in outrageous styles that would draw out laughs for half an hour. And whenever Elphaba looked stressed, Glinda would gently massage her head, easily lulling the girl to sleep.

These were some of the precious memories left for Glinda to cling on; remembrances of her days of ignorance, when everyday would just be spent staring blankly at blackboards, and every night playing with Elphie's hair—

"Ouch…" the blonde muttered, frowning slightly, as she felt dull burning sensations on her wrists and knees.

She fluttered her eyes open and instantaneously found Elphaba sitting cross-legged in front of her, _staring _at her. Immediately, Glinda saw her high, prominent cheekbones delving into a darker shade of green.

"Oh… I, uh," Elphaba uncharacteristically stuttered, feeling embarrassed to be caught staring, "Well, good morning…"

Glinda let a small smile crawl into her face as she brought herself to sit upright, wrapping the black cloak tighter around her to fend off the morning cold. "Have I overslept…?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

She looked at Elphaba again and was mildly amused to find that she was still staring at her with an odd look in her eyes.

"Oz to Thropp, Elphie," Glinda smirked, "What's gotten in to you?"

Elphaba blinked and blushed even further, if that were possible. She finally averted her gaze onto her twirling hands. "Just hungry…" she muttered, almost incoherently.

Now that Glinda thought of it, they didn't have supper last night. "Well, we better find you some food soon," she said, her crystal blue eyes shining with amusement, "You look like you want to _devour _me or something."

And now it was her turn to change color when she grasped the other _possible _meaning of the words she just released. Her skin crawled, and her sleepy heart pumped faster than it should be. _Not this again_, she thought exasperatedly.

This time, an awkward pause hung in the air.

"How are your legs feeling?" Elphaba finally decided to ask, not trusting her eyes to look at the blonde again.

"Um… Just fine, I guess," the latter estimated, wary in choosing the words she will be releasing. She had been paying heavy consequences since the last night because of mere words. "Why?"

"I think we should go for a walk," Elphaba said, standing up and adjusting her bag on her shoulder, "To search for food. Well, maybe if we get lucky we might even find a place to stay for some time."

"Sounds great to me," Glinda said, shifting to stand. Elphaba quickly dove and helped her up to her feet.

"I'm not disabled, Elphie," Glinda said, smiling even so. The green girl was being over protective of her.

"Well, your knees," Elphaba reasoned, setting her tall, pointy hat on her head, "I don't want you to strain yourself too much."

Glinda actually grinned. "You're being _too _cute, Elphie," she answered. She was relieved to see that Elphaba had smiled back, although diffidently.

They walked through the dense forest with Glinda entwining their arms together. She even started a small pep talk, but was too careful with the topics. She took care not to mention anything that had to do with the words "Wizard", "Animals", "Morrible", and even anything that might lead to the thought of _exile_.

Elphaba _had _to admit: she was greatly thankful that her little blonde roommate came along. But admittedly, things are not going to be easy. There are two of them on the run, and she wasn't sure how long Glinda could keep up with this entire mess she was unceremoniously dragged in… or rather, unwittingly chucked herself in.

They reached a clearing, and the first thing they saw was a small cabin of some sort. Several yards away, a barn stood out. Nobody needed to give these establishments a second glance to confirm that they were abandoned. The paint was peeling from the walls, and the materials used to build them were insidiously chipping away.

"Guess nobody's home then," Elphaba said, untangling herself from Glinda to inspect the grimy windows.

"Elphie…" Glinda said nervously, casting the empty grounds a furtive glance.

"Nobody's _been _home in a while, Glinda," Elphaba confirmed, walking over to the barn, which was almost as big as the cabin itself. "And… Of course. Empty." She added, without even entering the hay filled room.

There's an odd and rusty contraption in the middle of the dim barn. At the back, stacks of wooden crates are seen.

"What's that?" Glinda asked, inching closer to her guardian, still unsure of the place. She was done worrying about the isolation, and now she was thinking of the possibilities on how the abandoned farm might somehow be haunted.

"It's a press. You know, for printing stuff," Elphaba answered, squinting to see further.

Glinda scoffed and playfully slapped Elphaba on the arm. "I _know _what a press is, Elphie," she said, a little annoyed.

Elphaba merely smirked cheekily at her, making Glinda's jumpy heart clog itself on her throat. "You'd be surprise. This one has one side dedicated to paper, and the other on making apple ciders. See those boxes at the back? Maybe their printing something illegal and had to make a run for it," she went on.

They stood staring at the decaying metal before them for some time.

"So what do you think?" Elphaba suddenly asked.

Glinda looked up at her, knitting her brows together. "Think about what?"

Elphaba lamely waved her hand at the cramped looking cabin. "About the farm," she answered simply, "I think it's an ideal place to settle down."

"Oh…" Glinda said, looking at the dilapidated structure. She didn't want to admit that she found absolutely nothing enthralling about it. For one, she had been raised in a different environment, and to live in a rundown building was certainly beneath her standards. "It looks… decent."

Elphaba laughed. "Oh you," she said, taking Glinda's hand and walking the two of them back to the cabin, "You're too _adorable_, my sweet. That's why I _love_ you so much."

Glinda burned red after hearing her say that. But she felt incredibly and _ridiculously _exhilarated! Elphaba's prolonged staring, her constant use of the endearment "my sweet", frequent touches (some she found strangely intimate), and now _this_! It was the best one that got her exceptionally giddy: Elphaba saying she _loves_ her.

_It was no more than a jest Elphaba had uttered under the influence of sheer happiness. Nothing more. _Glinda insisted. But she couldn't help it. There was something so wonderful and unique about the way Elphaba had been acting towards her lately.

"Fine then," the green girl interrupted her line of thoughts, "Press Farm. I'm naming it."

Glinda rolled her eyes as they sauntered side by side. "Really, Elphie," she said skeptically, "That was the _dreariest _name one could think for a place to live in."

"Well then, Glinda Upland," Elphaba continued, smiling brightly now, "Enlighten me."

Glinda raised an eyebrow, smirking. "_Apple _Press Farm. Sounds a lot better and much more _alive_, Miss Elphaba."

Elphaba laughed again, enchanting Glinda as she watched how the muscles around that green face work to form the most brilliant smile in all of Oz.

As they stepped on the creaky porch, Glinda realized how interesting things might go from here on out. At that moment, she was living a life with Elphaba, officially accepting her new status as an exile, completely cut off from the world she knew.

And she felt nothing but escalating excitement.

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**A/N: **And so, the real fun begins XD Time to get my Gelphie feels working. If it's getting slightly boring in any way, please tell me immediately so I can fix it.


	6. Chapter 6: Settling Down

**A/N: **Words cannot express how happy I am that you're all eager to read all the way to the end. For that, I thank and love you all XD

* * *

**Chapter 6: Settling Down**

Right after their humble breakfast- which was mainly composed of apples- for the first five hours, Elphaba and Glinda did their best to clean the unreasonably dusty old cabin.

It was modest enough. It had one room in general, where the kitchen, the dining room, and the bedroom were found all together.

"I can't see why you can't use magic in all this," Glinda grumbled as she furiously wiped the grimy windows clean with a worn out rag they found in the kitchen earlier. Elphaba had to talk her into handling it since Glinda simply refused to touch it. "Would've made life much easier—_Hey_, you're being unfair!"

Elphaba only smirked as she wiped the table. Her broom was sweeping the floor all by itself, sending myriads of dusts out of the door.

They had their lunch by the porch. Apples again. Glinda thought that it wasn't seem so bad. The trees surrounding the farm, the _Apple Press Farm_. were blooming with apples.

Elphaba sat across her, the Grimmerie open on her lap while she absently munched on her lunch.

It was Glinda's turn to watch her. She just _love _her in her "studying mode". Elphaba's brows furrowed in immense concentration. Once or twice, she momentarily bit her lip as she reread a line to understand it better. Her brown eyes zoomed left and right so fast that Glinda wondered if she ever took in anything she was reading at all.

She even congratulated herself for her discretion. Whenever the green girl decided to give her eyes some time to rest, Glinda would look away and pretend to gaze out into the trees.

"Anything good in there?" Glinda decided to ask, aching to speak with her. From where she sat, she saw nothing more than squiggles and swirls.

Elphaba looked up. "_Everything _in it is amazing, Glinda!" she said, her eyes shining with excitement.

Glinda merely smiled as she listened to her without really hearing what she was saying. While Glinda had talked incessantly of the latest trends in Shiz, Elphaba talk of the knowledge of the world.

The rest of the afternoon was spent outside. They found a well, a small lake nearby within the woods, and even discovered stocks of seeds at the back of the barnyard.

"I don't know much about farming…" Glinda said as she watched Elphaba plant some at the back of the cabin.

"Me neither," Elphaba admitted as she clapped the dirt off her hands, "But maybe we'll get the hang of it soon."

When night fell, they sat by the dining table. Elphaba had busied herself with the Grimmerie again, and Glinda sat watching the fire on the candle flicker, feeling fatigued moving around all day.

Only when Glinda yawned widely that Elphaba decided to look up.

"Tired?" she asked.

"Like _duh_, Elphie," Glinda said, yawning again.

Elphaba smiled lazily "Have the bed," she said, "I can sleep in the barn."

Glinda frowned as she leaned her chin against her palm. "You're not an animal, Elphie," she said, "This is your house as much as it is mine.

"Well there's only one bed," Elphaba reasoned, lowering her eyes on the book again, "There isn't enough space for the two of us."

"Elphie, you've always commented on how _slight_ I am," Glinda said, rolling her eyes, "And besides, you'll freeze to death in the barn. It's cold tonight."

"I have a cloak," Elphaba insisted, shifting uncomfortably on her rickety chair now.

"Elphie, _honestly_," Glinda said exasperatedly, throwing her hands in the air, "What is with you? We _shared _a room, for heaven's sake! And it didn't seem a problem to you last night."

Elphaba's face was darkening again. "How did you…?"

"Oh, come on, Elphie," Glinda said, standing up and walking over to the other side of the table, handing out her hand to the green girl. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day and you know it."

Elphaba bit her lip in hesitation, looking over to the solitary bed in the other side of the room. In the end, she nodded. She closed the thick tome, took the candle, took Glinda's hand, and together, the two of them walked over to the bed.

Through Elphaba's gifted hands, she was able to fix the mattress hours ago. Due to lack of material, they were going to use her vast cape as a temporary blanket.

Within minutes, the lights were out, and the two of them were safely tucked in underneath the ebony makeshift covers.

Elphaba lay facing upward, watching the light of the moon creeping across the ceiling. She was on her way to sleep when she froze all so suddenly.

Glinda had wrapped her arms around her, resting her blonde head squarely on her shoulder.

It didn't escape Elphaba's notice how Glinda's nose was so near her neck, how her gentle breathing had slightly tickled her jaw.

Her heart was bursting in her chest, pumping so rapidly that it was depriving Elphaba the ability to breathe.

_What is happening? _Elphaba thought, ever so conscious to stay still, _Should I wake her? No, that's ridiculous. Oh Oz, what _is _happening to me? This isn't normal. She's a friend… Nothing more than a friend… But by Lurline, how much more of this can I take? I am bound to slip in my actions soon… How am I going to explain this to her anyway?..._

Elphaba was submerged in her complex thoughts that it mentally fatigued her minutes later. Regardless of her awkwardness on their position, she slowly drifted off to dreams.

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**A/N: **My nerves are not being helpful T_T I'm so _nervous _for college! Well, thankfully, Gelphie is here to take my mind off things.


	7. Chapter 7: I Hate You

**A/N: **So… I'll never stop thanking you all for your wonderful reviews :D Book references here :D

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**Chapter Seven: "I Hate You"**

For the weeks that had followed, Glinda discovered something interesting.

_Elphaba was allergic to water_.

She found out one day when she and Elphaba were eating breakfast. The two of them were taking turns in cooking. Glinda was struggling arduously for the first few days, but it eventually became her favorite hobby.

She accidentally spilt her water. Elphaba had been making the bed, and went to the table balancing the Grimmerie in her arms. Her eyes were glued to it, and when she grabbed the table for support, she ended up yelling.

Running over to her, Glinda saw that her green hand was _burned_ and covered with angry welts.

She'd been out of sorts, crying hysterically upon the realization that it was _her _fault. Her Elphie had been wounded because of her carelessness.

Elphaba had a hard time calming her down, and to make her feel better, she let the depressed blonde apply the burn oil on the sizzled skin.

Elphaba frequently flew to the East, to Munchkinland. Seldom, she left before sunrise and return late at night. But her leaves were sporadic, and there was no specific pattern. Whenever she returns, she always has provisions for the two of them.

Glinda, meanwhile, busied herself in gardening, and—as she promised to Elphaba—began studying the Grimmerie, though she swore she was never getting anywhere. Those wild symbols simply refused to be translated in her brain.

Whenever they both have free time, they had their afternoon and evening strolls around the lake in the woods. Sometimes it would even end in a childish game of hide-and-seek. If they preferred doing activities indoors, they would sit side by side with the Grimmerie open before them on the table.

Just as Glinda had once noticed, Elphaba's actions had been intriguing. In their hours of reading together, the green girl had developed a habit of touching her hand. In a few days, they wouldn't even bother to let go until they finished studying.

Every night, they would sleep on the same bed. In some nights, regardless of the time, Glinda would lie awake in the dark, waiting for Elphaba to return. When she did, the blonde pretended to be asleep. She would sometimes even be lucky to get a glimpse of her leaving early in the morning. When the green girl didn't have any errands, Glinda would wake up with breakfast ready at the table.

One morning, she had been rendered speechless when she found a dozen of chickens in a seemingly refurbished barn, which Elphaba had obviously repaired through magic.

"Where _did _you get them?" Glinda asked, completely dumbfounded. The barn she could believe, but unless Elphaba could make chickens appear out of the blue, she was suspicious of their origins.

Elphaba would only smirk and refuse to answer.

The day after that, she brought home sets of clothes for the two of them. They were simple enough, and they would certainly suffice in freezing conditions.

Finally, one evening, as they were eating supper, Glinda finally asked, "Seriously, where are you getting these stuff?"

The clothes and the food were not that cheap either. And there was the case of the mysterious chickens (_Which had been interrupting my beauty sleep for the last two weeks_, Glinda thought grumpily).

_If Elphie's been stealing, I'm going to make sure she'll NEVER get out of this house ever again._

Elphaba began to look uncomfortable. She skimmed her spoon across her bowl, swirling her soup. "How are the potatoes doing?" she asked instead, "It's a bit cold this season. Are they doing all right?"

Glinda narrowed her eyes. Every time she would ask, Elphaba wouldn't answer, or in attempt to direct her mind somewhere else, change the topic. Glinda had let all these slide, but now, she wanted the _reason _behind the green girl's reticence.

"Elphie, we're living in the same _damn_ house for almost a month," she snapped impatiently, not bothering to mask her annoyance any longer, "I have the right to know where you've been going, what you've been doing, and how are you managing to supply us with food."

Elphaba shrank in her seat. She was biting her lips again, and Glinda could practically see her brain working out an excuse, trying to wiggle herself out of this one.

"_Elphie_—"

"I've been joining the Resistance in Munchkinland," Elphaba said really fast, "It's against the Wizard. I told them I could do magic, and they're paying me for my help. And I… Well, I… I…"

She never got the chance to continue. She had never seen the blonde look so livid with rage. Her tiny fists were trembling on the tabletop, her bottom lip was quivering, and she turning really red in the face.

_I know I should running for my life… But Lurline help me_, Elphaba couldn't resist but think, _She looked cuter when she's angry… Oh Oz, inappropriate thought at the moment, Thropp, get your head together._

Glinda slammed her fists on the table, making Elphaba cringe, waiting for the impact—

"Elphaba Thropp, how _dare _you!" Glinda screamed, completely outraged.

"Glinda, listen to me—"

But Glinda stood up, trying to make herself taller than she actually looked. "You leave me here every day to go and get yourself to _prison_? Get yourself _killed_? You like being paid for putting your neck on the line?"

And so Elphaba remained silent, biting her lips again so as not to be tempted to retort.

_Stop that! _Glinda thought, _Why do you keep doing that sexy lip thing?!... Wait, WHAT?! Oh, so now it's her lips? Next it'll be her- Focus, Glinda!_

"Have you ever thought of me _at all_?" she continued, keeping their eyes locked so she wouldn't have to worry about her "sexy lip thing", "Do you know how many nights I tire myself to death, waiting for you to return? Have you ever thought of what I would've done if you _never _came home? If you got captured? Tortured? _Killed_?"

Elphaba looked like she wanted to answer, but she thankfully kept her lips sealed.

"I _hate _you, you know that?" Glinda screamed, angry tears clouding her vision as she pounded the table again, "I hate you, I hate you! How can you not _tell _me? Don't you trust me?"

Elphaba couldn't help herself, "If I told you, you wouldn't have let me—"

"And for good reason!" Glinda shouted, drowning the other girl's answer. She stomped her foot in utter frustration. "Oz, if I'd known sooner—Argh! _How _could you do this to me—_HOW_?"

The small blonde actually collapsed on the floor, drowning in tears. She sounded so broken. She _felt _broken. She even felt betrayed by the person she thought least capable of doing so.

Elphaba couldn't stand the sight and went over to Glinda, kneeling in front of her. "Glinda, calm down—"

The sharp sound of a palm colliding on flesh resonated within the cabin.

Elphaba felt her head being thrown to one side because of the hard blow. Her cheek continued to feel the sting. _Okay, so maybe I kind of deserved that_. She was so surprised that she could only look incredulously at Glinda.

"Calm _down_?" Glinda screeched, "How do you expect me to calm the _hell _down?"

Instead of answering (knowing that Glinda would probably ignore her words anyway), Elphaba pulled the struggling blonde into her arms and embraced her fiercely, refusing to let go.

"Let _go_ of me!" Glinda sobbed, trying-and failing-to push away the green monstrosity subduing her. Realizing that she wouldn't succeed any time soon, she began hitting her to places she could manage with her limited space. "I _hate _you! I hate you, Elphaba!"

After a short while, Glinda stopped, and returned the hug, crying even harder on Elphaba's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry," Elphaba murmured gently on her ear when she felt that it was safe to speak, "I love you so much. For your sake, I keep myself safe, no matter how hard they pestered me to go out in the open."

Glinda merely sniffled, burying her face further onto the other girl's shoulder.

Elphaba continued. "You're wrong when you thought I didn't care. I think about you all the time, my sweet," she said, somehow drawing more tears from the blonde, "Please understand. I never stopped _hating_ that charlatan, that fraud. Him and Morrible. I just thought that if we succeed, life in Oz would be so much easier. You and me could live freely again."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Glinda asked, her voice muffled because of the cloth. She simply refused to let Elphaba win just yet.

"I know you wouldn't let me," Elphaba replied simply, merely repeating her answer before.

Glinda pulled back, attempting a frown. She weakly slapped Elphaba's shoulder. "I can't believe you, really," she said, her voice trembling, feeling incredibly tired because of her recent outburst.

Elphaba gave her a small smile. "Am I forgiven?" she dared to ask.

"How come you always get away with anything?" Glinda complained in mock annoyance, but Elphaba knew better.

"I really love you, you know?" Elphaba said, running her hand gently up and down Glinda's arm, holding her gaze.

_Stop saying that_, Glinda thought as she returned the smile, _This feeling of expectancy is escalating to new heights. You can't possibly mean "love" as "I love you" love. Maybe it's more like "you're my best friend" kind of love—Why am I even worrying about this? These feelings are not normal. You're a girl, I'm a girl. This couldn't be—I should REALLY stop._

"Yes, I _forgive _you, you mean green thing," Glinda decided to reply to her other statement, "But no more secrets. Promise?"

Elphaba looked slightly disappointed at something, but she quickly got over it as she nodded. "I promise, Glinda."

They got up from the floor.

"I'll go clean up," Elphaba said, glancing at the table and their unfinished dinner, "Go get some sleep."

"That'll be nice," Glinda said, sighing in relief.

In a few minutes, Glinda lay on her side, listening to the soft noises Elphaba was making in the kitchen as she cleared the table.

_I really love you, you know?_

Elphaba's words rebounded in her head, filling the corners of her mind.

_What could Elphie mean by that_? She asked herself, _She said she loves me, TWICE, to be exact. _

She was immersed in her musings that she vaguely registered the fact that Elphaba had turned out the candle. Only when she heard the bed creak did she realize that Elphaba had taken her place beside her.

Being quite the little actress, Glinda pretended to breathe deeply, as one would when he or she was lost in the land of dreams. Based on the lack of warmth, Glinda concluded that Elphaba had not completely laid down. She could feel Elphaba's eyes on her.

And then she heard her say softly, "I really love you, my sweet…"

_There it goes again_, Glinda thought, _One of these days, I'm going to rip out my stomach to stop these ridiculous tickling sensations_.

Finally, Elphaba let her head hit the pillow. Glinda felt air near her ear, telling her that Elphaba was facing her, probably to continue her staring session.

Glinda tried to escape the present by falling asleep, only to find that even in her own world, she couldn't flee from those loving brown eyes and that marvelous smile…

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**A/N: **This is my longest chapter yet :O Gelphie feels everywhere. So... What do you all think?


	8. Chapter 8: When it Rains

**A/N: **Can I say thank you again for all your wonderful reviews? :D

And in another news: … crap, crap, crap, crap, crap… In three days, I'm officially going to be a college student. Panicking like hell T_T My childhood is slowly _dying_.

Oh, and to those who are asking, I'm taking BS Psychology :D

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**Chapter 8: When It Rains**

Within weeks, the rainy season entered.

To Glinda's delight, Elphaba had taken her leave from the Resistance until the season ends, so as to abscond herself from the prospect of getting burned in the rain.

But in another notice, Glinda noticed that there was a slight change in Elphaba's patterns of movement. The green girl was quieter, and was always lost in thought. Whenever Glinda would look at her, she would catch the girl staring at her. Elphaba would now read the Grimmerie alone instead of asking her to join her unless the blonde voluntarily sat next to her. Her "habit" of touching her hand had also mysteriously disappeared, and they barely talked to one another, prompting the blonde to excuse herself to leave the awkward silence.

However, as strange as her roommate was getting, Glinda couldn't bring herself to ask the reason why, slightly afraid of the answer, whatever it might be.

Usually, they would take turns in feeding the chickens, but due to the unfortunate weather, it was Glinda doing all the work. Not that she complained about it. In fact, she wouldn't even let Elphaba sit near the door or the windows, much to the green girl's amusement.

A storm ravaged Oz in a few days.

Glinda went out one night amidst the heavy torrent, equipped with nothing but an umbrella and carrying the chicken feed in one arm. For the whole day, she had been waiting for the storm to calm down to feed the chickens, but it lasted well into the night that she finally decided to go out after realizing that it probably wouldn't end soon.

Chirping filled her ears when she entered the barn.

"I'm sorry, you guys," she said, throwing the umbrella aside. The storm was so fierce that her legs were doused.

She walked down the aisle, filling the trays with food.

Each chicken had their own space. Glinda was at the back of the barn when she noticed that the last space was empty.

"Avaric…" she groaned.

Most of the chickens were named after her schoolmates back at Shiz. She found it slightly funny that two of the fattest hens were named Pfanee and ShenShen. She had purposely called the most headstrong chicken Avaric in memory of its namesake back at school.

She circled the barn and was not able to find the animal in question.

"Not again…" Glinda muttered irritatedly. This was not the first time Avaric the Chicken had gone missing. Even Elphaba found him troublesome.

Regardless, Glinda took her umbrella. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the raging downpour.

**Two hours later…**

Elphaba sat by the dining table, the Grimmerie open before her.

She found it hard to concentrate. She looked at the door again, as if willing it to open and pull Glinda in.

Glinda had been gone for about two hours now. Her longest visit to the barn had been half an hour, and that was to passionately think of names for the newly hatched chicks. _What could she be possibly doing in the barn to take her this long_? Elphaba thought, her feet subconsciously tapping the floor in impatience.

Thrice she wanted to go out and see for herself, but she would risk getting burned, and Glinda would probably scold her for being so daring.

And so Elphaba waited for the blessed minute of Glinda's return. Even the Grimmerie couldn't distract her now.

At the next cackle of thunder, the wooden door creaked opened.

Elphaba jumped to her feet, looking expectant as Glinda absentmindedly folded the dripping umbrella and tossing it into a corner.

"What happened?... Sweet Oz, Glinda, you're soaked," Elphaba said, deeply worried.

Indeed, Glinda was soaked. It was even an understatement. She was completely doused from head to foot. Her damp clothing had wrapped itself tightly around her small frame. Her blonde hair had lost its curls and was plastered on either side of her face.

There was something wrong.

Glinda was unnaturally pale, and she looked tipsy on her feet, swaying on the spot.

"I'm fine, Elphie, really," she asserted. She smiled at her, though there was something off in it, and her eyes seemed unfocused, "Avaric had been missing, but he's back now. I found him by the lake…"

Without warning, Glinda fell on the floor with a soft thud, unmoving.

"Glinda!" Elphaba shouted, panic rising rapidly like venom in her veins.

She fell on her knees beside the fainted girl. Water was seeping from her clothing and was lazily spreading on the floor. Elphaba couldn't care less.

Biting back a hiss, she took hold of the blonde's shoulder and turned her over. Glinda was definitely motionless.

Feeling her forehead and her neck, Elphaba blanched. _Oz, she's burning!_

Running over to a cabinet, Elphaba wrenched out a massive cotton towel. As best as she could as fast as she could, she tried to make Glinda dry. She received several burns in the process, but the pain was numbed in her brain.

Next she attempted to dress Glinda into warm clothes. Despite her predicament, she couldn't help but feel deeply ashamed. Between this and to dance in front of Morrible wearing a fuzzy pink ballgown, she would pick getting humiliated in front of the old cow.

She even tried to distract herself by thoughts of spells in the Grimmerie, but it could hardly do much to get her brain away from the present task. Undressing her roommate without her knowledge was something Elphaba never would've dreamed of doing. Add the fact that her hands were ready to burst as they were exposed to so much water.

She didn't bother putting on undergarments. As if pulling the previous ones off wasn't mental torture enough. Elphaba had to blindly put on new clothes since she tightly squeezed her eyes shut. Glinda was now wearing a simple thick frock, and it was enough to cover the girl's arms and legs.

She then hauled the unconscious body to the bed. Desperate to keep her warm, Elphaba had put on three layers of blankets.

And though her hands were protesting vehemently, Elphaba brought over a pail of cold water, submerged a clean cloth, and laid it over the blonde's searing forehead.

"Come on, Glinda, wake up," she pleaded as she sat on a rickety chair next to the bed.

Every five minutes, she would dip the cloth on the pail and place it on Glinda's head. Her temperature was so high that Elphaba had to repeatedly keep the cloth cool.

Finally, a quarter of an hour later, Glinda eyes fluttered half-open. "Elphie…?" she inquired weakly and hoarsely, her head turning slowly from side to side.

Elphaba immediately jumped into action. Diving her battered hand underneath the covers, she took hold of Glinda's warm one. "I'm here, my sweet," she said breathlessly, gently squeezing her hand, "I'm here…"

"It's dark…" Glinda said slowly, her blue eyes rolling in their sockets, "So dark… Where are you…?"

Elphaba frowned slightly. The bedside table was just nearby, and there was a candle with a flickering flame on it. It was practically shining all its light on the bed. And Elphaba was sitting just next to her.

_This is _not _good_, Elphaba thought, feeling an unpleasant cold sensation filling her lungs.

"I'm here, right next to you," she answered, hearing her voice tremble.

Glinda smiled a little, closing her eyes again. "I knew you wouldn't leave me…"

Elphaba changed the cloth again, sensing a strange feeling of foreboding at the sight before her.

"…Elphie?" came Glinda's voice again.

"Yes, my sweet?" Elphaba readily answered.

"It's so cold…" Glinda said, "So, _so_ cold…"

Elphaba did not like where this was going at all. Glinda's chest was rising and falling in a _painfully _slow manner. The girl even looked like she was having a hard time to take in air.

_No_, Elphaba thought, clinging on to the hand she was grasping, _It's not going to end this way. Glinda's not going to die… Not here. Not tonight. She is not going to die with everyone in Oz remembering her as a traitor… She won't leave me alone…_

But the more she thought about it, the more the vision of freedom for the both of them becomes hazy… Or was it the foolish tears pooling at her eyelids?

Glinda started breathing audibly through her pale, cracked lips. The sounds she was making were low, dull, and raspy that it was sending shivers down Elphaba's spine.

"Do you… Do you remember when we've met?" Elphaba asked, her throat heavy.

Glinda smiled, but her eyes remained closed. "Yeah…" came a low and breathy reply.

"You looked beautiful that day," Elphaba continued, squinting a little as the first tear rolled down her cheek and leave behind an angry red trail; she was spurring the girl into living, "Sitting on a mountain of valises, a smile on your face."

"Hah," Glinda breathed, attempting to grin. "And you were… were wearing that _depressing _outfit of yours… You still had your glasses on then… Your… Your _greenness _was slightly surprising…"

The green girl smiled as she reminisced that day. She didn't like the idea of thanking Morrible, but there was no other way she and Glinda could've been roommates without her.

"It's getting really dark…" Glinda said weakly.

Tears felt like knives dancing across her face, but Elphaba didn't bother to stop them.

"I'm making apple pie tomorrow…" she said, desperate to keep the blonde intact, "And then for lunch, we'll… We'll try out that recipe you were working on… We'll play hide-and-seek again because I k-know you love playing it. And… An-And for dinner… F-f-for dinner—"

"Elphie…" Glinda softly interrupted, turning her head to the green girl's direction, "Why are you crying…? Water hurts you, remember?"

Elphaba only gripped her hand tighter.

_Don't leave me, don't leave me, _Elphaba chanted in her head, _Please don't leave me… We can still do all those things. If not for tomorrow, then in another day. We can do it every day. Just be here tomorrow… Please, Glinda, please…_

When Glinda's breath sounded deeper than before, Elphaba decided that it was now or never.

"Do you remember all those times I said I love you?" she said, swallowing a sob.

"It never left my mind, Elphie…" the latter replied after a slight pause.

"Glinda," Elphaba said, "I meant it. I really do. I love you. I love you so much it hurts!"

"Oh Elphie…" Glinda whispered.

"Tell me," Elphaba whimpered, "I need to know. Do you… Do you love me too?"

Glinda's eyes finally opened, and blue met brown. The blonde's eyes looked slightly red, but the tenderness in them was still there.

"You're…" she said, frowning, "You're hurt…"

"Glinda, _do you_?" Elphaba insisted adamantly, oblivious to the waterfalls cascading down her face. "No secrets, remember?"

Glinda looked at her for a moment before replying, "Elphaba… Elphie… _My _Elphie… You don't know how much I love you too…" Her voice had been rough, but she spoke in such sincerity, such profoundness, that the callousness of her tone barely came to notice, "I love you, Elphaba…"

"Glinda…" was all Elphaba could manage. She couldn't think straight anymore.

They've finally bared their soul to one another at the most cruel timing—

Glinda had released her hand.

Elphaba's eyes snapped up.

Glinda's eyes were closed. She wasn't moving. She wasn't gasping for air.

"No…" Elphaba muttered, her heart hammering madly, "No, no, no, no— Glinda, this isn't funny… Glinda, come on…"

The girl remained rigid on the bed.

Leaping up and knocking her chair, Elphaba rushed to the dining table and threw the Grimmerie open, flicking wildly through the pages that she almost tore them. Nothing. Over a thousand pages of powerful magic and _nothing_.

Letting out an anguished cry, she slammed the book shut and sped back to the bed. Glinda remained as she were, looking paler than ever.

Feeling defeated, Elphaba let her knees collide with the floor beside the bed.

Glinda was dead. Elphaba was unable to save the one thing she couldn't live without.

She didn't knew how long she had been kneeling there, staring at the motionless _corpse _before her, silently weeping.

Finally, she stood up with quivering legs. Without any hesitations, she leaned down and gently pressed her lips against Glinda's pale ones, freeing more tears, praying that even in death, the blonde may feel it—

It came as a slight surprise when she felt Glinda _answer _the kiss.

Elphaba leaned back a little, her heart being filled with a dull light of hope.

She felt like crying again.

Glinda slowly opened her eyes. Color was returning to her porcelain cheeks. Her chest began to reclaim its normal rhythm. To top it all, a smile— a warm and welcoming smile—eased their way into her lips, which too began to return to its normal color.

"Do you know how long I've waited for you to do that, Elphaba Thropp?" she said. She sounded a little tired and she was feeling parched, but the mischief in her tone didn't escape Elphaba's ears.

Elphaba was speechless, but she was smiling through her tears as she gently caressed Glinda's face.

Glinda spoke for her. "Oh come here, you green bean," she said with a cheeky smirk, unearthing her arms from the ocean of sheets and throwing them around Elphaba's neck, pulling her for another kiss.

It felt much more different now that both of them were participating in it. They didn't know how long they'd been at it, but neither of them cared. All the unspoken words were thrown together in one peaceful, blissful, and memorable moment.

The storm had passed, and the almighty light of dawn was illuminating their small cabin, their small _home_.

"Get some sleep," Glinda finally suggested, throwing the two extra blankets off as Elphaba laid down beside her, still unable to speak at the light of the recent events. Arms wrapped around each other, Glinda nuzzled her nose at Elphaba's neck, saying, "When you wake up, we're going to do something for those nasty burns..."

"When I wake up, remind me to roast Avaric for lunch," Elphaba slurred, closing her sore eyes.

Glinda giggled. "And you'll have to answer some questions," she said, sounding highly amused.

"Like what?" Elphaba yawned.

"Like how I got into this dress and why I'm wearing _nothing _underneath it."

They both laughed at it for a while.

And then dreams, uninterrupted sweet dreams, temporarily pulled them from their world. They were both thankful, however, that even in sleep, they haunted each other's minds.

* * *

**A/N: **Longest. Chapter. Ever. It was supposed to end in a cliff-hanger, but I figured it would be downright rude of me to leave Elphie in such state. If this is somehow off the hook, tell me, because my eyes and my brain aren't in good terms at the moment, and my fingers were occassionally entering auto-pilot mode :D


	9. Chapter 9: Number 4155

**A/N: **Your reviews are amazing Thank you all so much… Yeah, this one is slightly delayed in schedule to my first day in college. It's been crazy XD

Book references XD Gregory Maguire's the one with a creative imagination for unique names.

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**Chapter Nine: Number 4155**

"Elphie, come _on_!"

"No."

"Please—"

"Glinda, I said _no_."

"But _Elphie_…"

Elphaba looked up from the Grimmerie, her verdant face impassive.

"No," she deadpans, once more lowering her gaze on the tome's dizzying squiggles.

Glinda huffed indignantly. _I will not be ignored_, she decided. Rising from her chair, she marched over to the other side of dining table. She grabbed the yellowing edges of the thick book and yanked it out of the green woman's reach.

"_Hey!_" Elphaba protested, leaning forward, but the blonde had slid the Grimmerie to the other side. She frowned. "I was using that!"

Glinda didn't seem to hear her as she bounced slightly on the spot. "Come on, Elphie, I'm _sleepy_!" she whined petulantly.

Elphaba rolled her eyes as she eased back to lean on her chair, crossing her arms in defiance. "Nice try, but I'm not buying it," she answered, beginning to smirk.

The blonde was as adamant as she was. Glinda tugged at her arms, attempting to haul her off the chair, but Elphaba wouldn't budge. The green woman was having a good time teasing her, but when she finally had her fun, she let the other girl win, and they sauntered to the bed.

Ever since that fateful night after the storm, the two began to _physically _express their desires. Wrapped in each other's arms every night, they were an indescribable, entangled mess of endless kisses, searing passions, and sweet whisperings, and they would bury their faces on the pillows when things got too much.

Elphaba had resumed her sporadic visits to Munchkinland, and despite of knowing what she was up to, Glinda took it all in with a trusting ease. Whenever Elphaba would choose to stay at home, they began to try out spells from the Grimmerie.

The green woman was doing an exceptionally good progress with her spells. Meanwhile, Glinda unintentionally humored her when the two of them discovered that, by some unfortunate but hilarious twist of fate, Glinda's forte had been spells about _bubbles_.

"Elphie, shut _up_!" Glinda hissed hotly one day when the two of them were practicing just outside the cabin.

The apple she'd been meaning to transfigure into wood turned into a bubble instead, and was now lazily floating skyward. Elphaba had fallen on the ground, laughing hysterically, hammering her fists excitedly on the ground in pure exhilaration.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Glinda, but—"

She tried to say, but ended up cackling with girlish joy. And that was pretty much the reason why they weren't able to practice more that day, since Glinda chased her madly throughout the grounds, wildly pelting apples at her head.

Elphaba was still in such a good mood by sunset, in which Glinda wasn't certain whether to feel satisfied or affronted. They were having their usual strolls in the forest. Recently, they've added a twist in it. Other than their "nightly escapades" in the cabin, they've also extended their physical intimacy under the shadows of the trees.

They were heading over to their favorite spot, when they abruptly halted on their tracks as they neared the borders of the small lake.

"Tell me I'm not imagining that…" Glinda said breathlessly, jumping to take cover behind Elphaba.

There was a small dark mass by the rocky edges of the lake. It had a built of a child.

"Definitely not, my sweet," Elphaba agreed as they cautiously scooted over to the immobile body.

It was a young boy. He looked no less than five years of age. The odd assortment of clothes—or rather, _rags_—was badly tattered. The pale skin was covered in dirt and grime. The bare soles of his tiny, calloused feet were slightly bleeding. They couldn't see his face, for he was lying on his stomach in a twisted position.

"Is he dead?" Glinda inquired, looking over Elphaba's shoulder.

"He's still breathing," said her emerald companion, looking at the child warily.

The two of them edged nearer until they were both kneeling over him. Elphaba grabbed the bony shoulder and carefully turned the child over.

The boy's eyes suddenly snapped open. The instant he saw Elphaba, he sat up straight. He looked utterly terrified, but kept his cadaverous lips sealed.

Elphaba rolled her eyes cynically. "Yes, I've always been _green_," she said, sounding incredibly bored to be gawked at again.

Glinda shot her a reprimanding glare, and then pulled off a concerned face as she turned to the frozen boy. "As mean as she looks, she's really nice, you know," she said gently, ignoring Elphaba's renewed skeptical grimace, "What are you doing all the way here?"

Instead of answering, the child bowed his head, and held out his small, chilblained palm, looking as though he was asking for some alms.

When Glinda looked confused, Elphaba said, "I know that gesture. It's done by the slaves in Munchkinland, asking their masters for permission to speak."

Glinda's blue eyes rounded in disbelief. As she looked at the boy again, she still couldn't render the fact that someone so young could be subjected to a fate worse than being imprisoned. "Of course you can speak," she said gently, feeling her heart go out, "No one else is here to say otherwise."

"You're not going to take me back, are you?" the boy asked in a quivering, soft voice.

"Back to where, my dear?" Glinda asked, wanting to cry for the child.

"Back to Munchkinland, I assume," Elphaba interjected instead, "Where I suspect his master will be waiting for him."

The boy shuddered involuntarily. "Just let me go," he meekly said, keeping his eyes lowered, "I won't trouble you any longer."

Glinda looked up at Elphaba, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. "Elphaba, he needs a home," she said, "Besides, winter is coming. He'll freeze to death out there."

Elphaba, however, arched an eyebrow. "If you're suggesting to adopt this boy—"

"I _am_," the blonde replied, suddenly brining the bedraggled child into her arms, much to the boy's shock and confusion, "Those people who own him—_Oz_, I don't even want to think about them!— have _tortured _him enough!"

The young slave, despite of himself, inched nearer into the warmth she was emitting.

"Glinda—"

"Oh _please_, Elphie," Glinda pleaded, cradling the boy, "For me?"

Elphaba hesitated for a moment, her jaw tightening. She'd had her share of taking care of a child. In fact, her entire childhood had been casted aside for that duty, that _responsibility_. The mere thought of the countless years wasted on nurturing Nessarose was driving her to the sharp brim of anger.

But that fleeting annoyance floated away as her eyes collided with Glinda's.

"Oh fine," she said, trying not to sound off spirited, "We can keep him."

Glinda practically bounced, her silly giggles from her Shiz days finding her again. "Oh thank you, _thank you_, Elphie!" she squealed.

The boy looked like he didn't register what had really happened at all, but he seemed to realize that he will be staying with the nice blonde lady and her mean green friend for a long while.

"What's your name?" Glinda asked excitedly, smiling brightly at him.

"4155," the boy answered simply.

The blonde's smile faltered slightly. "Come again?"

"4155," the boy reiterated, "That's my house number."

"Oh we'll have none of that!" Glinda announced happily. "I am Glinda, and she is Elphie—"

"_Elphaba_," the green woman snapped, staring coldly at the child. _Dare to call me "Elphie" and I swear you'll be flying back to Munchkinland at the snap of my fingers_, she thought savagely.

"And we'll call you…" Glinda said thoughtfully to 4155, trying to come up with a suitable name.

Elphaba felt herself stiffen in hesitant anticipation. She was aware of Glinda's "hobby" of christening newly hatched chicks with strange names. Once she had used all the names of their classmates, she began inventing silly ones, like "GingBing", "Flufflop", "Trumbling", and even "Fifi" (which slightly annoyed her when Glinda explained that she wanted it to rhyme the moniker "Elphie").

"How about Liir?" she suddenly said, wanting to spare number 4155 from further enslavement from his own name. The child's eyes lit up, and he looked like he wanted to settle on that one.

"Where did you get that?" Glinda inquired, but she sounded highly interested.

"It's a tribal name from the Vinkus," Elphaba explained, coming across it once in a history book back at Shiz. The Liir she had read about was an infamous insurgent who had been rebelling against his own tribe. He was imprisoned and served labor for years until finally escaping, never to be seen again.

Glinda pondered for a moment before jovially announcing, "Liir it is, then!"

After a while, the three of them made their way back to the Apple Press Farm.

Elphaba watched from a corner as Glinda became overly compliant to the boy's nonexistent needs. The blonde flew around the house, cleaning the boy and offering various provisions, but the child looked too shy to accept most of them.

To Elphaba, given that maybe Glinda was too childish most of the time, she could be a wonderful mother. She smiled to herself, thinking how the loving blonde had also acted more like a _wife _to her ever since their stay by the farm.

Before tucking in, Glinda hugged Liir. "We're going to have so much fun together!" she said excitedly to the smiling child, "You, Elphie, and I."

Despite of hearing it, the green woman smiled softly, letting the controversial use of her nickname slide.

Liir even walked over to her, though more shyly than he was to Glinda. He bowed slightly before her, saying in a small voice, "Goodnight, Miss Elphaba."

Elphaba openly smiled this time, answering, "Sweet dreams, Liir."

The boy looked up, as if trying to see if the mean green person was mocking him. He was pleased to see that he had been wrong. Elphaba, meanwhile, began to notice the boy's eyes for the first time. They were blue, a wonderful and glorious shade of crystal blue, contrasting perfectly with his raven black hair.

While Liir quietly went to sleep on their bed, the two women watched him by the dining table.

"Poor thing..." Glinda sighed, looking at the child in awe, "He's a really good-looking boy. Too bad he had to go through so much, though."

Elphaba looked over at her. Her words escaped her lips before she even got the chance to stop them, "He has your eyes."

It was merely meant to ease the moment, but she couldn't help it. Glinda's way with the orphan seemed to make her the mother.

To her relief, the malicious glint in Glinda's eyes had toppled the glazed look that she had been giving Liir. "And he has your _wonderful _hair," she said, scooting closer to her green lover.

"Not now, my sweet," Elphaba whispered urgently, glancing at the sleeping child.

"You know, my Elphie," Glinda said, technically purring as she nonchalantly dropped herself to sit on Elphaba's thighs. Her fingers slowly traced her love's firm jaw, "Don't tell me we're going to stop _humping around _just because Liir is here..."

Elphaba's cheeks darkened in a surprising speed, her breathing became shallow as Glinda's face hovered dangerously near hers. "Well we can't do this even though he's sleeping," she reasoned, "What if he wakes up?"

Glinda's malignant smirk didn't help soothe her nerves at all. "There's always the barn, Elphie."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, well... I had unintentionally made Glinda slightly coquettish here T_T Didn't realize till I was halfway through.

There. I gave them a child through possible means XD ... Not in my original draft, but okay. My brain is getting wilder every chapter.


	10. Chapter 10: The Son

**A/N: **My first week in college in a nutshell: LOL.

To be honest, I expected worst, but it turned out just right XD

Your wonderful reviews kept me alive whole week, so let's see how my Gelphie feels are rising from the depths of college work, shall we?

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**Chapter 10: The Son **

For the weeks that had progressed, despite Elphaba's initial unreasonable wariness to the child, she and Liir had come to good terms with each other.

Through Glinda's insistence, Liir referred to her as Mommy, and Elphaba as Mother.

"Why would I want to be called a mother?" Elphaba once snapped to Glinda when Liir was sleeping.

"Would you rather prefer _momsie_ instead, Elphie?" Glinda retorted amusedly, smirking in a manner that gave Elphaba an itchy desire to hit her in the face. Of course, she didn't.

In Elphaba's absences, Glinda had been homeschooling Liir, or otherwise letting him help around the farm. The boy had been incredibly useful and was more than willing to work in her place should she ever get tired.

Liir had been an adorable child, Glinda thought. Though at times still shy, Liir was a loving boy who followed Glinda everywhere, and was even there to watch her practice her spells. Glinda usually entertains the five year old by letting him chase the shiny bubbles she was making. Whenever she would feel disappointed with her failed trials, Liir encouraged his Mommy Glinda vigorously.

At times when Elphaba was home, she was taking the responsibility of teaching Liir with the basic topics, and occasionally, how the Grimmerie works.

Their bonding was awkward for the two of them at first. For one, Elphaba's affectionate side for younglings only extended up to Animals and animals. On the other side, Liir knew that the green woman didn't like him that much. But through Glinda's valiant tries to get them to talk to each other, Liir and Elphaba got along pretty well.

The green woman would bring home toys for the boy. Hide-and-seek had now been fun since Liir was _exceptional _in hiding. At one time, Elphaba, deeply annoyed that she couldn't find him, pulled him back through a Summoning Spell. Liir had floated through the forest for a minute before being brought back to the farm.

Dinner time together was always enlightening. Liir babbled away all the things that had happened in one day, enchanting his mommy and mother. The two of them frequently tucked him to bed, watching him fall asleep.

Elphaba and Glinda remained as discreet as they can with their "passions". Thankfully, there had been the barn and the forest. Liir knew them to be a couple, not that he minded since he'd seen odd couples before in his years of servitude. The two openly grasped hands, embraced each other dearly, and sometimes kiss each other on the cheek, but the rest of their relationship was hidden from Liir's line of vision.

One day, with Elphaba away in Munchkinland, Glinda devoted her day trying to get her Summoning charm work. She was finding it difficult to even pull a mere paper to her.

Liir had been playing outside since lunch, and hadn't returned since. Not that it bothered her. She'd been used to his random schedule of leaving and showing up all so sudden. She knew that when she called, he'll surely come to her.

Finally, tired and having gotten nowhere, Glinda leaned against her chair and let out a fatigued groan, tilting her head back and pressing her palms onto her sore eyes. "Liir!" she called, her voice a little muffled underneath her hands, "Liir, come inside! It's time for your lessons!"

She dropped her hands and looked at the door a few moments later when she didn't hear the boy's usual padded steps. Liir hadn't entered yet. Frowning, Glinda called a little louder, waiting for a minute to see if the boy would barge in.

She was starting to worry. The petite blonde got up from her creaky chair and hurriedly strode to the door.

As she pulled the brass knob open, she blanched, losing color in an escalating speed at the sight of the tall specter standing just outside the door.

_Guards. Ozian guards._

There was no mistaking in them. There were about ten. Dark green uniforms with sleek silver crosses sewn across the torso, with gleaming insignias on the left hand side of their bulky chests distinguishing their ranks. The swords with golden hilts on their belts and the rifles they were grasping in their hands also didn't come amiss.

Glinda hurriedly scanned them. Not seeing signs of Liir captured in their midst, she swiftly whirled around, pushing the door close.

The guard standing directly in front of her looked like the captain. With one hand, he stopped the wild swing of the door, throwing the blonde slightly off balance on her feet.

With the entrance off the list, she scurried away from the door, frantically looking for another way to escape this horrible nightmare.

The last time Glinda had seen the guards was nearly a year ago. The traumatic memory was rebounding in her brain. The sharp sting of the metal handcuffs, the searing sensation of her knees being flayed as they collide against the rough stone, the strain they were giving her arms as they tugged her violently—the thought was death itself.

Elphaba had been there to save her. There was no Elphaba now. Her Green Guardian was not here to hear her pleas of help.

"Where's my son?" she inquired shakily, her back colliding with the corner of the small cabin. She was cornered. The guards were advancing with their rifles trained directly at her head. "What have you done with him?"

They gave her no verbal answer. Her heart was ready to burst out of her throat when she heard the familiar tinkling of the handcuffs.

She bullied her mind to think of the spells she'd been practicing with Elphaba.

_Bubbles_, she remembered dejectedly, _Might as well try drown them to death with my mighty army of floating liquid. Nice, Glinda. Very nice indeed. My son is out there and Elphie—_

_Oh Oz… Elphaba!_

She can already imagine the appalled expression on her Elphie's beautiful emerald face. She can mentally envision burning tears marring sickening red trails down her cheeks. Oz, Glinda could almost hear her bitterly call out her name in despair.

The towering men grabbed her roughly and slapped the cuffs on her wrists, ignoring her whimpering. Within seconds, they were dragging out of the doors. Tears had already found Glinda's chin by then.

The guard directly on her right grunted. An apple landed on the grass with a soft thud.

Glinda's head snapped to that direction, trying to see between the gaps of the men surrounding her. She cried out in relief, "Liir!"

And there stood the boy, his magnificent blue eyes flashing dangerously, a bright red apple in his hand. Glinda thought that he looked too young to be angry, but the effect he was unconsciously emitting was slightly intimidating.

"Let my mommy _go_!" he yelled, heftily tossing the apple he was armed with.

The guards didn't look too happy being pestered by a tiny child.

The crisp sounds of loading rifles jolted Glinda into panic. She struggled to get away, but two guards were enough to restrain her by the arms.

"RUN, LIIR, _RUN_!" she screamed, feeling her throat being torn apart at the effort.

Liir hesitated for a second, catching his mommy's eyes, and then he spun around and sprinted off into the woods.

Glinda screamed more when the guards started firing, sending splinters from the barks into the air. The booming sounds of gunshots were deafening, but it was not enough to drown her terrorized screams.

She pulled away from her captors, trying to pry herself free. But it was to no avail. She was madly crying now. Violent sobs rattled her entire being, praying _desperately _that Liir could get away… to get to Elphaba…

_Monsters_, Glinda thought ruefully, feeling herself glare despite the tears flooding her vision, _He's just a child… Bastards. Soulless bastards…_

"Not my son, _please_!" she yelled over the ear-shattering gunfire, "He has nothing to do with anything-!"

There was a shrill cry. The firing stops.

Glinda felt her blood turn into chilling ice. _That can't mean- Oh no… Oz, no!_

"NO!" she screeched, falling to her knees, though she never managed to reach the ground as the guards advanced, hauling her with them as if nothing had come to pass, "Liir? Liir!… Liir—No! H-how c-c-could you! He's just a b-boy!"

There was no change on the guards' impassive faces.

With the thoughts of the untimely death—_murder_- of her son, Glinda cried harder, if that were possible. She let her head hang with a palpable pain of loss dominating her empty heart.

"Liir... My brave little man... My _son_..."

* * *

**A/N: **… Hmmm… I seem to torture Glinda a lot T_T … Poor Liir…


	11. Chapter 11: Back to the Emerald City

**A/N: **Ah yizzz… Two chaps in one day!

To be honest, I feel slightly bad for ending the last one that way :/ Poor Liir and definitely poor Glinda.

… Slight caution for language XD…. Might be my longest chapter. Might. There are other potential chapters longer still -_-

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Back to the Emerald City**

The Oakhair forest seemed like an ocean of blur

Elphaba fled to the Apple Press Farm, pushing her broom to its maximum speed.

"Come on," she muttered impatiently under her breath, gritting her teeth in an animalistic fashion, "Faster, you old piece of shit…"

_Stupid, stupid! _She screamed in her brain, _Should have been more careful…If anything happened to Glinda and Liir, I don't know what I'll do to myself!_

Her trips back and forth Munckinland had drew the attention of some guards. Her colleague, through an informant in the military, had told her that she was being watched, and it made her realize that her home in the Apple Press farm must've been traced by now. She fled home at once.

As she neared the farm, her eyes caught a movement underneath through the gaps of the trees.

She pulled her broom upward, skidding it into a halt in midair. She lowered herself among the tips of the trees, she heard the creature stumbling through snapping branches.

She caught sight of dark hair… and then a shape of a child came to view, wearing a slightly oversized white cotton shirt stained with red—

"Liir!" Elphaba exclaimed, dropping on the forest ground with a feeble crunch from the roots. She lowered herself on her knees. "Liir!"

He turned around, looking dazed and confused. He didn't immediately recognize the woman before him, but when he did, he staggered forward.

"Mother!" he cried out, throwing himself into Elphaba's waiting arms

Elphaba hugged her son tightly. One of her hands came in contact with a damp section on the boy's back. She almost withdrew her hand, only to stop in realizing that it wasn't water.

And then she remembered the vision of red she saw.

She pulled back, only to see tears falling from his breathtaking blue eyes. It made her forget the previous thought instantaneously.

"What happened, Liir?" Elphaba asked gently, her face mere inches away from his. "What are you doing all the way here?"

"Back hurts…" he choked.

At this, Elphaba turned him around by the shoulders and felt herself go numb in shock; crimson coloring pooled at the child's lower back, blatantly contrasting with the pristine white clothing.

"Lie down, lie down," she coaxed.

Having experiences from her training with the Resistance, she learned first aid. She couldn't inquire the child since he was in too much agony at the moment. She was suffering pain interiorly. If Liir had been wounded, she couldn't imagine what could've happened to Glinda.

She finished the operation faster than what was required, but the thoughts of Glinda prompted Elphaba to think of nothing else.

"Liir, what happened to mommy?" she finally asked, feeling unreasonably anxious.

"Mean people wearing green came," Liir answered, wincing at the smarting sting of the wound.

Elphaba's face had drained color.

"They took mommy," the boy continued, confirming Elphaba's nightmare, "I tried to help mommy, but they won't let me near. See, they hurt me, mother."

Elphaba was out of her mind with worry, but she deigned to look unperturbed before Liir. She didn't want the child to see her breakdown. She kissed his forehead, grateful that he was alive, and she affectionately stroked her night black hair.

Together, they flew to the Apple Press Farm.

As Liir had told her, Glinda was nowhere to be found. The door was off its hinges, but otherwise, the place looked untouched.

"Wait here," Elphaba said to Liir, leaving him to sit by the porch and entrusting him with her mangled broom and pointy hat… The hat Glinda bestowed to her…

Quickly, Elphaba grabbed a large burly knapsack and unceremoniously dumped in the Grimmerie, a couple clothes for the three of them, Liir's favorite stuffed toy, and some provisions.

The sun was already setting on the horizon when Elphaba stepped out of their now door less cabin. Liir was dozing on the porch, Elphaba's hat on his head hanging low over his eyes, and the broom embraced in his arms.

Elphaba looked back within the shady confines of the cabin. Usually, during this time, Glinda would usually be preparing a sumptuous dinner.

She sighed despairingly. The guards maybe back to hunt her. She and her family weren't safe anymore. But the Apple Press Farm had been her home with Glinda for a year. The place hosts precious memories for her and her lover. Even Liir found home in it with the two of them.

She went over to the barn and threw the doors open. She flinched.

The guards must've searched through there as well. Countless eggs were smashed and scattered all over the ground. The chickens, every single one of them, lay rigidly still on their places. With the blood setting, Elphaba realized that the bastards had slashed and stabbed them all dead.

She closed the doors, feeling lost at the sight of the dead animals, the sight of the corpses of her companions, her pets.

She went over to Liir, and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Son," she said, her throat feeling incredibly tight, "We're leaving."

"… To where?" the boy groaned, rubbing his eyes. He was even vaguely aware that Elphaba had taken the hat and broom from his hands.

"To the Emerald City," she answered, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu. Liir's eyes definitely reminded her of Glinda's, albeit not the physical structure.

"Really?" Liir asked, sitting straight, his eyes shining with an innocent and wondrous gleam. The same way Glinda's eyes shone when Elphaba had told them where they were headed.

For the first time since she left, she will be returning to the place where it all began.

She was willingly returning to the fiery hell in the name of Glinda Upland.

* * *

Glinda's eyes were tinged with red when she was brought to the throne room. She hadn't uttered a single word since she was forcibly taken from her home, ever since she witnessed the death of her son, ever since she had been torn away from a world she and Elphaba had established.

"Ah…" a familiar feminine voice drawled, making her look up, "I was beginning to think that green-skinned demon had flayed you alive."

Morrible looked _horrible _than ever. Glinda felt an indescribable hatred at the sight of that smug grin on the toad's face.

_You've caused all this_, Glinda thought savagely, her worn out muscles contracting into a death glare, _You lied to everyone. You lied about Elphaba. You made my Elphie's life a living hell, you bitch!_

"You might want to relax a bit, my dear," Morrible said languidly, pacing slowly and confidently in front of her. "Such a pretty face. You wouldn't want to ruin it."

Glinda looked away from that nasty grin. Her eyes fell on the empty throne.

"Oh he's gone for a trip," Morrible said after seeing what Glinda was looking at. "But he'll be very much delighted to see you, dear—"

"_Don't _call me that," Glinda snapped, casting her eyes down. Simply looking at Morrible made her sick.

Morrible chuckled, making Glinda want to slice her great big fat head off. "When the guards stationed at Munchkinland started seeing a green woman prowling around the streets, we were informed immediately. As secretive Miss Elphaba is, her nasty green skin shouldn't come amiss—"

"Stop it!" Glinda yelled, her shrill voice echoing around the cavernous room.

Morrible raised an eyebrow, smirking. She brought a chubby finger to Glinda's chin, forcing her head up to look at her. "Defensive of the green freak, are we?" she mused, "Has she been a dear friend to you, Miss Galinda?"

Glinda's eyes twitched at the mention of the name she hadn't heard for a while. Instead, she continued to glare at the pompous blob right in front of her.

"_More _than a friend, perhaps?" Morrible asked again, sounding more and more amused.

Glinda's cheeks betrayed her. The familiar feeling of blood rushing to make her blush came almost instantaneously.

Morrible released her. The fat cow had began laughing cruelly, doubling over and clutching her bulgy stomach. Glinda wanted to do nothing more than push her off the window and let her fall to her death.

"Oh Miss Galinda, that's _rich_!" Morrible cackled, beginning to regain her composure. "Our little Miss Princess falling for the green monstrosity—"

"_You're _the monster!" Glinda screamed, her rage overflowing all over her trembling body, "You don't know _anything _about her!"

Morrible only waved off her words. "Oh I _know _her enough, my pretty," she said tauntingly. "You're here. She can't be far behind."

Glinda paled upon the realization. Surely, by now, Elphaba would've come home to find it empty. No Liir. No Glinda. Definitely, Elphaba would've been hysterically angry. She would fly to Oz, looking for her and their son… A son who's never coming home…

Her son's dying screams echoed menacingly in her ears. The sight of the searing burns on Elphaba's face on the night she thought she died repeatedly haunted her visions. The frustration, the anticipation, and the endless agony all came in the form of bitter tears.

Elphaba was flying to her damnation.

"You bitch!" Glinda practically yelled.

Morrible didn't look too amused now. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Miss Galinda," she said in a dangerous tone, "It's time for a review in manners."

* * *

"It's so _wonderful_!"

Liir was safely sitting in front of Elphaba aboard the broomstick.

The brilliant glow of the Emerald City was dazzling the boy's eyes, but Elphaba could only feel an impending foreboding.

Definitely, Glinda would be brought to Wizard since she was known to have helped the Wicked Witch. She knew the conniving old charlatan had her well in his hands. She was flying to her own doom. This was what the Wizard had been waiting for.

And there was Liir. She loved him. He was her son with Glinda, but she couldn't trust the child on his own in the city. He was technically still a toddler. She could tell him to stay in one place, but she didn't know how long he will be willing to stay put in a city of wonder. She _had _to take the boy.

The prospect of meeting Old Horrible Morrible wasn't inviting _at all_. Elphaba knew that whatever magical enchantment there was protecting the castle was removed at the anticipation of her predicted arrival. Needless to say, sneaking into the castle anyway with a child was seemingly impossible. If she was ever going to get captured, she wasn't going to make it easy for them.

She flew directly to the corridor just beyond the throne room. She would've barged in through the windows, but she needed time to compose herself.

She tucked her broom on her back, underneath the loaded knapsack. She didn't know what to expect. Battalions of guards or only Morrible seemed to make her edgy. Morrible was no easy opponent. She wouldn't be teaching Sorcery if she's a total dunce in it. And Elphaba's ranges of practiced spells were generally nonviolent. She read some, but she didn't dare try it.

Liir also looked a little fidgety. The sight of fancy stuff seemed to remind him of the masters he used to serve.

Elphaba grasped his little hand. He looked up, and their eyes met.

"Are you ready to see mommy?" she asked, annoyed as she detected fear in the way she spoke.

"Yes, mother," Liir replied, nodding.

"Liir," she started, trying to find words that will process quickly to the boy's head. "Things are not… going to be good in there. There are bad people in that room. _Wicked _people. They don't like me or mommy."

"They don't like me too," Liir said, pouting a little, "They hurt me. Did they hurt mommy too?"

Elphaba momentarily pursed her lips. "Bad people do bad things, Liir," she decided to answer, "Now I want you to stay close to me. You are to never leave my side. If things go well, you, me, and mommy will go home. Do you understand, Liir?"

"Yes, mother," the boy replied, starting to look scared.

Seeing him close to panicking, Elphaba knelt down, their hands still clenched together. "Mother will _never _let anything happen to you, Liir," she said resolutely, "You're my son. If they hurt you, they'll answer to me."

Liir smiled a little. "Mother is good with magic," he said, full of trust that it warmed Elphaba's heart, "Mother will kick the bad guy's butt!"

Elphaba grinned, embracing her son dearly to her. Liir threw his tiny arms out to hug her too, snuggling on her chest.

A muffled scream wafted through the large oak doors of the throne room.

Elphaba looked up, protectively hugging her son who tensed up at the sound.

"No! P-P-Please…Please, no more—NO!"

Elphaba would know Glinda's voice anywhere. It pained her to hear her in such agony.

She lifted Liir from the ground and carried him over to the door. Liir quieted and hugged Elphaba's neck, burying his face on her shoulder, as if using her shielding his eyes.

Another scream made the two of them cringe.

"Stop… No, please no… NO! NO— STOP!"

Elphaba couldn't take it anymore.

With a wave of her free arm, the double doors swung open with a mighty gust of wind.

* * *

**A/N: **Because cliff-hanger. LOL. First time I used lines to separate views. Getting complicated here. This was _not _in my original plan. FTW Brain.

Reading Gregory Maguire's _Wicked _gave me a mad desire to get Elphaba and her son Liir to interact more. She didn't acknowledge him much there, and other than occasional moments of warmth… They basically ignore each other. Ampf….


	12. Chapter 12: The Son Of A Witch

**A/N: **Let's all be honest. We all _hated _Horrible Morrible. Because she is just a (-Insert expletive here-).

Yes, originally I wanted to kill Liir, but… Yeah, well, Elphie and Glinda wouldn't like it. So hooray for the boy! … And yes… My Idina Menzel feels for this chapter… T_T

Yes, well… So, let's vote who gets more screen time here: Liir or Morrible :D

And yup. Definitely, without a doubt, the _longest_.

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Son Of A Witch**

The first thing Elphaba saw upon entering the dimly lit throne room was Glinda.

Glinda almost covered in _blood_.

"Let. Her. _Go_."

Elphaba was trembling so hard that the words barely formed in her lips.

But her three simple words rang throughout the large hall. It never came to her if it was she had unconsciously raised her voice, or if it was the unmistakable rage subconsciously stimulating her magic, magnifying her voice louder than it used to be.

Liir shuddered. He still hadn't raised his eyes from his mother's shoulder, as if deathly afraid to what caused her to sound so angry.

Elphaba blanched at the sight of her beloved Glinda.

She was suspended in midair, arms stretched widely on either side of her. The long sleeves were so badly torn that Elphaba could see the jagged fabric in detail from where she stood.

Both of her hands were bright red and raw, as if submerged in a boiling pot of water. The arms had large and deep lacerations. Scarlet droplets were freely falling on the marble floor, beginning to form sickening scattered puddles.

The legs suffered almost the same fate. Numerous cuts made the blood seep through dull yellow skirt, blotting the clothing with crimson stains. Her feet showed the same burn signs like the hands.

Her blond head fell to her chest, which was rising and falling rapidly with difficulty; Elphaba could hear her gasp for air. Almost above her head, there was a large gleaming knife seemingly floating in the air. It was smeared with blood.

Standing near Glinda's feet was Morrible, calm and composed with her hands behind her back, with a rather bored look at Elphaba and the child. Some distance behind her stood a dozen of guards, their rifles directed at the newcomers.

Elphaba didn't know what to think, what to _do_.

Witnessing Glinda hover between life and death once had been an extremely unpleasant experience for her. Seeing her go through it once more made Elphaba curse at how unfair fate is.

Liir finally decided to turn. At first, Elphaba felt him freeze. And then he shivered before he called out, "Mommy?"

At this Morrible quirked an eyebrow, her smirk crawling back to her face.

Glinda didn't raise her head, but she hoarsely answered, "…Liir…? …" Her chest heaved, appearing to be more strained at the excitement upon hearing the voice of her beloved son. "… Is that… Is that you…?"

"Well," Morrible started enthusiastically, clapping her bulbous hands together, "How _fascinating _this is all turning out to be! Not only Miss Elphaba is here, but also Miss Galinda's young darling!"

Upon hearing that statement, Glinda slowly brought her head up to see if Morrible was mocking her.

Elphaba bit her lips to steady them.

Glinda's face was pink and gleaming with tears and sweat. Her golden curls looked disheveled, though some were plastered to her face. Her whites of her eyes almost matched her uncomely skin color, but the irises, those _cobalt blue _irises filled with intense agony stood out. She appeared to be silently weeping.

Their eyes met.

Glinda's teary eyes were pleading Elphaba's, wanting for them to understand that she had to leave, to save herself, and to be there for their son.

Elphaba's eyes, in turn, expressed pain, as if wanting nothing more than to take her place.

"Elphie…" the blonde breathed out, "What… doing… doing here… ?... Leave—"

"I've always known you were a slow learner, my dear," Morrible interjected pompously, "Perhaps another?"

"No…" Glinda whimpered weakly, her head slowly lolling from side to side, "Please, not again…"

Morrible glanced at Elphaba, who still looked transfixed at the nightmarish sight. She then flicked her head to Glinda. "Hm. I guess another will do," she said, languidly waving her hand.

Horrified, Elphaba saw the knife automatically lower itself. It disappeared from view. Seconds later, Glinda was screaming agonizingly, as if her heart was being brutally torn from her body. She convulsed violently, thrashing wildly against her invisible bonds. Needless to say, Elphaba knew that the knife was sliding itself down the blonde's back.

Liir threw his hands to his ears, starting to cry silently. "Make it stop, mother," he whispered despairingly, diving for Elphaba's shoulder again.

"_STOP!_" Elphaba bellowed, starting to lose her mind at the sounds Glinda was making. "YOU HORRIBLE FIEND! STOP THIS INSTANT!"

The knife clattered on the ground. At the same time, all of the guards fainted and dropped on their places.

Morrible's eyes narrowed. "Apparently, you've been enhancing your powers, my dear," she said, letting Glinda retrieve all the air that she lost, "I was planning to make the whole thing last a while—"

"_You_… You…" Elphaba was so angry that the words she wanted to say were overlapping each other in her mind. "You _horrible _woman… I'll make you _pay_ for what you're done to her!"

"Tell me something, dear," Morrible said, unfazed with the threat, "Whose child is that… that… That, well, _that_?"

"She's mean," Liir whispered to Elphaba.

Elphaba glowered menacingly at the rotund woman. "_This _child," she snapped indignantly, "is my son as well as he's Glinda's."

Morrible cackled. "This is just unlikely, but here it is!" she laughed, "Here is the proof right in front of my eyes. And here I was, thinking that you were the brightest person I've ever taught."

"What do you want?" Elphaba said, looking over at Glinda's limp body in the air, "_Why _did you have to hurt her?"

"Well, dear, as you may have noticed—if you _did _notice—the Wizard is off for some shenanigans in the countryside," Morrible droned, as if they were only having a class, "You were _too stubborn_. We've decided to get you all nice and cozy in a little cell—you can keep that _rat_ with you…" she added, nodding at Liir, who stuck out his tongue at her, "And the only way for you to _cooperate _with us is that is we _harness _your gifts. And the only way for that to happen is through _persuasion_."

At the final word, she jerked her massive head at Glinda.

"To ensure the safety of your friend- though I see now that she's _more _than a friend," she added, smirking slightly, "You need to perform _little tricks _for me and the Wizard."

Elphaba's jaw tightened.

"Put her _down_," she growled threateningly.

Morrible rolled her eyes. "I knew you weren't going to answer directly," she drawled in boredom, snapping her fingers. "You have one minute, Miss Elphaba."

In a snap, the blonde dropped into a crumpled mess on the blood drenched ground, uttering a small yelp as she collided hard with the floor.

"Bitch…" Elphaba muttered indistinctly before rushing over to Glinda's broken form.

Liir slid himself from her arms and fell on his knees next to his mommy. Elphaba followed suite, glaring pointedly at Morrible. Apparently, the cow got the point and distanced herself a bit.

Glinda was still breathing heavily through gritted teeth. She had fallen on her side, and her hair had been strewn across her face. Elphaba had a vantage point view of the massive cut across the back, feeling her anger escalate even further.

"Mommy?" Liir began softly, slightly teary as he gently placed his small hand on Glinda's soft cheek. "Mommy, I'm here…"

"My… son..." Glinda exhaled, bringing her raw hand with difficulty over the one on her face, "You're alive…"

"Mother saved me," Liir said, tucking the golden curls back with his other hand to clear her face.

"Glinda," Elphaba said painfully as she placed a hand on her lover's shoulder.

She saw Glinda's pale lips twitch, as if wanting to smile. "Elphie…" she replied.

The green woman leaned over and gently kissed her on her damp forehead. "I'll get you home. I promise," she whispered tenderly.

"I… I lo… I love you, you… know…?" Glinda breathed, "You… and Liir…"

"And I love you," replied Elphaba.

She then stood up in her towering height, depositing the broom and knapsack from her back. She faced Morrible, who had been avidly watching them for a while.

"Well?" the fat woman drawled, impatiently tapping her foot on the marble floor.

"You have caused _enough_ trouble for a lifetime," Elphaba said, her voice dangerously low. "Tonight, it's just me and you. Take me or leave me, bitch."

"You're a _fool_, Miss Elphaba," Morrible said in mock sympathy, "I guess, like Miss Galinda, you need to be taught _discipline_."

"Let's dance, then, _Madame _Morrible," Elphaba retorted in the same sarcasm.

Vibrant green and red sparks flew across the room as the furious battle raged on.

Liir had been helping Glinda crawl into safety behind a massive pillar supporting the high ceiling, leaving behind a sickening trail of smeared blood on the glossy marble floor.

The throne was busted into thousands of pieces; the mosaic glasses shattered; and chunks of the walls and the ceiling rained down everywhere.

After several minutes, the old woman's stamina was slightly failing her. She ducked for cover behind the Wizard's mechanical head.

"Had enough?" Elphaba taunted, grinning triumphantly.

"You know, Miss Elphaba," Morrible called from her hiding place, starting to smile herself, "I _do _recall something your father wrote on your medical record back at school…"

Elphaba's grin was wiped from her face.

"Something about your _unfortunate _allergy to water," the old woman drawled, sensing the change of advantage.

Elphaba truly paled when she heard an almighty groan coming from underneath the floor.

With a deafening crash, a huge water pipe sprouted from the ground like a massive snake. Water furiously gushed onto the floor, quickly spreading into the room faster than wildfire.

Elphaba instinctively backed off, sheer fear in her eyes.

Glinda sensed her distress. Her gaze fell on the broom and the knapsack, which were pushed by the raging current into the other side of the room.

_Great… A Summoning charm…_

It was the only way, yet the only talent she could do in magic is based on _bubbles_.

Bubbles… _That's it!_

With whatever there was left in her strength, she summoned a bubble. She willed it to float across the room. Having reaching its target, Glinda tried to null the inhuman pain mercilessly stabbing her open wounds to concentrate into manipulating the bubble into swallowing the objects. To her delight, it worked! The broom and their knapsack were monotonously zooming back to her.

"That's _amazing_, mommy!" Liir exclaimed as Glinda made her visceral messenger pop.

Glinda was left drained by the excursion of magic. "She…needs…" she uttered, seeing the world spin around her in dizzying motions.

Liir realized what she was talking about. He grabbed the battered wood. "Mother!" he called.

Elphaba looked over to them, looking lost and utterly terrified. She saw the broom. She understood. She outstretched her hand, and the broom came whizzing to her. She hurriedly mounted it, and launched from the ground in mere seconds before the water reached her feet.

She dodged around the pipes, trying to get a good aim at the cow's head, but it proved to be difficult. The pipe submitted to Morrible's commands, blindly spewing water at her direction.

Finally, Morrible's aim was true. A smaller pipe successfully doused a side of Elphaba's face as she zoomed by.

Elphaba howled, her face sizzling with the searing coolness of the water.

"Elphie…" Glinda breathed, lying almost motionless on the ground submerged underneath two inches deep of water. Her blood clouded the surrounding liquid red.

Liir was devastated at the state of both his parents.

His Mommy Glinda was sprawled rigidly on the ground, and his Mother Elphaba had half of her face being transfigured by water.

Blind anger mired other thoughts in his young mind.

He stepped out into the center of the throne room.

He knew where the mean fat lady was hiding, but he couldn't see her from where he stood. All the attention was focused on Elphaba that the massive piped paid him no attention at all.

There was a ear-splitting crash as Elphaba fell off the broom and rolled on the ankle deep water. He could hear the crisp sounds of sizzling across the room.

He was not going to let anything happen to his mother and mommy…

"_Leave my mother ALONE!" _Liir bellowed, his voice sounding not entirely his own. Symbols from the Grimmerie floated before his eyes.

He was so angry that he didn't even notice that he was bending the tubes towards the mean fat lady so effortlessly.

Morrible was blank in shock as humongous amount of torrent came washing over her. The current was strong enough, and it gushed out of the windows, bringing Morrible down with them a hundred feet below.

When the first shock of his new discovered ability to do magic, Liir rushed over to his mother.

"Mother?" he called.

Elphaba had been sitting up on a chunk of rock, her hand over one side of her face. "How did you that?" she asked, hissing with the stinging pain.

Liir shrugged. "I dunno," he said nonchalantly as if drowning a fat lady and then sending her to fall to her doom was an everyday work, "I got mad and… well, I have great teachers!"

Elphaba still refused to lower her hand.

"What is it, mother?" Liir asked, scooting closer, but he was mildly affronted when Elphaba slightly turned away.

The child was well aware of the water allergy, and he couldn't see why his mother should shun him for a bad-looking burn.

Elphaba saw the child's disappointment. She sighed, sounding really exhausted. "Liir, my son," she started, "I don't want you to look at me right now. I'm… well, I don't think anything can help my face now…"

Liir had witnessed his parents apply various oils on her mother's burns. They've always worked before. Coming from Elphaba herself made him feel apprehensive with what he might see.

"You're pretty, mother," Liir encouraged whole-heartedly, "You'll always be pretty to me."

Elphaba turned to him, feeling a warm sensation cloak her heart. She trusts her son. His eyes speak the truth themselves. Slowly, she lowered her defenses.

Liir held his breath.

Half of his mother's face was completely_ marred_, damaged beyond repair. Her eyebrow had been completely singed off, and everything on one side was in a shade of bone-chilling light green, and was slightly puffy with the sore of the burn.

Tears were brimming in her eyes as Liir gently slid his small hand down her newly deformed face. They both let out the breath they've been keeping.

"See?" Liir said, smiling as he traced the place where her former eyebrow was found,  
"My mother is still pretty."

They went over to Glinda, who was recuperating well on her own. The instant she saw Elphaba's burned face, she wanted to sit up, only to be pushed down by her son and her lover.

"Oh Elphie…" she said sadly, doing the same things Liir had done to the destroyed face, gently running her hand over the rough surface.

"I'm hideous," Elphaba said bitterly despite of her son's testimonial.

Glinda slowly shook her head. "You're _beautiful_, Elphie," she said gently.

Elphaba looked more pained. "You don't have to lie—"

"I'm not lying," Glinda interrupted, "I'm just looking at things in a different way."

It was the first time the two of them had really _kissed _in front of Liir. The boy had to pointedly look away to give them a moment.

"Oh, please," Liir groaned after a little while after seeing that his parents were still lip-locked, "Could we just go?"

The two break apart to laugh at him.

Within minutes, the three of them were inside a large bubble Glinda conjured, floating away from the Emerald City.

Elphaba casually leaned against her knapsack as Glinda let her head rest on the green woman's thigh, and Liir hugged his favorite stuffed toy to his chest, watching the city of wonder sink. The green woman and the child had helped in bandaging the blonde's myriads of cuts, so as to relieve her from more pain.

"I'm so proud of you," Glinda said, taking her son's hand, smiling since she can now manage to do so, "You're my brave little man. You're even good at it than me."

Liir blushed at being appraised. "It's nothing, really…" he said in a small voice, answering their flattering smiles.

"You're really our son, Liir," Elphaba confirmed, patting him on the back.

"You know," Glinda said to Elphaba as they watched the gigantic moon loom into the horizon, "The Wizard is not going to be happy to find his palace _trashed_ and Morrible _gone_. I can't wait for the headline: _Two Witches and a Boy Defies the Wizard_."

Elphaba smirked down at her, the moon casting jagged shadows on her burnt side, "Has a ring to it," she says jokingly.

"Where are we going now?" Liir inquired, rocking back and forth.

"Home. Wherever that is. As long as we're together," answered Elphaba, "Come here, Liir, and get some sleep, you unknown sorcerer."

Liir giggled with his mommy Glinda, resting on Elphaba's other lap.

"Hey, Glinda."

"Yes, Elphie?"

"You won't leave me, right?"

Memories came rushing back to Glinda, returning her to the moment she had been leaving the Emerald City with Elphaba aboard the broom. It had been a year at most. Maybe even _exactly _one year ago, she could never confirm. On the same hour as now. She had asked Elphaba a childish question that needed a resolute confirmation.

"I'm here. I'm always here. I will _never _leave you, my Elphie… I promise." She replied, echoing the same words Elphaba had released. "You, me, and Liir- defying the Wizard, defying all of Oz, and defying gravity."

* * *

**THE END**

**A/N: **So much for my first attempt of a story here in .  
So, if you've read all the way to the end to tolerate my crap, then thank you, thank you all so much XD  
You've all been very wonderful.

**TRIVIA: Let's play a game. Have you noticed there was a pattern on every title of the story? **Chapter** One_,_**Chapter **2**, Chapter **Three**, Chapter **4**,... and so on. If you've seen it, you're all great observers.

Goodbye and thank you :D  
**~ Ædelstan**


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